One of our members talks about Public Transport

I have not had a good experience of public transport!

With all transport, you are not given time to sit down and settle, and with my disability (Brittle Bone) this can be a problem because there is a risk of falling over.

The problems I write about in this article are problems I have had with the Transport for London area, as this is where I have found transport the most troublesome.

Buses

As mentioned earlier, getting on buses and sitting down can be hard for me, because the driver does not let you sit down before driving away. The worse thing is, if you tell them, they don’t seem to care! This is a major issue for people, especially for people with disabilities.

On buses in London, for disabled people there is an external buzzer to access a ramp to access the bus. Although the problem is, not many drivers are sure why there is a buzzer sounding in the bus! This means, a lot of times, I have not been able to board a bus because the driver has not stopped. This is very discriminatory for disabled people, because everyone has the right to use public transport.

A lot of bus drivers do not want to use the ramp, because they are more worried about reaching time targets rather than catering for more customers.

If a disabled person is lucky enough to board the bus, getting somewhere to sit or park their wheelchair is a different matter! A lot of people with suitcases, pushchairs or other luggage do not realise that it is a reserved area for disabled people’s wheelchairs, so they have to argue their rights to be able to access this space. While all this is happening, the bus driver has begun to drive!

Train

On trains, because of the 40 second limit, it is very hard for a disabled person to use a train because there is not enough time. They are offered no support services with luggage, only to get on the train and off the train. Normally, in a lot of cases, they have unmanned stations, or do not have enough staff available to help. This is not as bad at stations such as St. Pancras International, or Liverpool St. But at unmanned stations such as Hackney Downs, Edmonton green, or Seven Sisters it is very hard. We are expected to cope on transport in night-time hours.

These problems also occur at Underground stations.

I hope what I have wrote will be used and taken onboard on the fight for Inclusive transport. As a young person, I believe what I have already gone through on public transport is very bad and change needs to happen. Quick.

By Jhon