Public Transport - Why are you so frustrating?

 

Today I’m going to be discussing the topic of public transport. As the name suggests public transport is designed to be “accessible for all” but sadly, this hasn’t always been the case, particularly in my own personal experience. Like many other disabled people, it’s not the price tags that put me off from using public transport, it’s rather the public spectacle that boarding public transport creates  and the lack of support.

When talking about a lack of support, overall it’s the infrastructure that lets a lot of public transport down. Buses for instance are a classic example, where I’ve found some drivers reluctant to assist with helping you board due to the length of time the process takes, that and on occasion, there may be someone already in the allocated space for those with access requirements, so given the lack of provision this makes things incredibly frustrating and buses a limiting experience.

Train operators however for a long time had a business model which worked to much success. This was proven the case after I finished my studies at University in Southampton. My very first full time role was working at the very same University whereby I graduated, my mum would drop me to the local train station, I’d be able to purchase my ticket at the front desk, before making my way to the required platform where I’d be met by a guard, who would lay out a fold away ramp and support me with boarding. Once on board the experience was seamless I was just like any other passenger, I’d wait until my required stop where I would disembark and the guard would be there to greet me and assist with the same process to disembark the train. The majority of the time this would happen without fault, however there were a small number of occasions where the guard may not have been waiting, and I’d be reliant on members of the public to help track down the relevant support (thankfully not everyone was ignorant and somebody would always be on hand to support with this)

This however begs a question, why nowadays aren’t the ramps preinstalled to come out automatically so that wheelchair users aren’t having to always be reliant on support that can come with numerous risk factors, either through human error or the ability for miscommunication?

A lot of wheelchair users like myself are put off from using taxi services too, provision and availability are both in high demand but are scarcely available. Even if you prebook a taxi service, in my own experience, this doesn’t always work to your advantage, there have been a number of times where on a night out I’ve been left on the roadside for hours as many taxi drivers see group bookings as a higher priority due to the income which multiple drop offs generate, but it begs the question, where is the gap in the market been filled? When are we going to see public transport networks put the infrastructure in place to help better support wheelchair users to have access to another basic requirement?

There is absolutely no question that progress has been made, but more needs to be done to ensure that disabled customers have the access to public transport on a more regular and consistent basis which meets their needs.