Buses in reverse on access

Demos by disabled people have provided some memorable images of direct action. But, says Peter White, some victories appear to have been short-lived

My first major out­side broad­cast after the BBC appointed me its Disability Affairs correspon­dent in 1995 was to cover the ceremonial tipping of model buses off Westminster Bridge into the Thames.

The Conservative govern­ment’s anti-discrim­ination bill, then going through, was felt to be too timid; and one symptom of that timidity was the too slow progress on accessible transport.

The protests were dramatic, with disabled people abandoning their wheelchairs and swarming on board. The message was that buses are ours as much as yours and we mean to travel just as you do.

It seemed to work, and over the past 15 years there’s been impressive progress particularly in London and other big cities. But now I’m hearing that the need for accessible transport is being forgotten.

Disabled people particul­arly need public transport in the country, but as local authorities scrabble for cost savings, these services could be cut to the bone or vanish altogether.

The alarming thing about this, beyond the fact itself, is the suggestion that the loss could be covered with the expansion of bodies such as Dial-a-Ride, and the greater involvement of voluntary drivers.

Well hang on! Did I miss something when it comes to definitions of independence? Doesn’t it have something to do with making journeys when you want, travelling alongside the wider community, and not having to give days of prior notice?

And where does this leave disabled people who live in residential care and are now being told they don’t require the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance “because it’s the job of local authorities to provide trans­port for their care homes”. What’s being said there? That you don’t need finan­cial support, because you can go on the community bus that’s being axed!

Presumably, once there’s a consensus about where you want to go, and a critical mass of people who want to go there, then your journey can take place.

So: you want to attend your dad’s funeral or have Sunday lunch with a friend? That’ll be fine, provided there are enough people who want to go with you.

It seems our MPs have lost sight of the idea, so hard won, that disability can jeopardise communality and that choice, even if it costs more, is a right.

If we’re all meant to be in this together, I’d like to see Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne having to negotiate a time for the Dial-a-Ride bus to deliver them to the Trooping of the Colour, and finding enough friends to join them.