On the buses

After a surprisingly affirmative experience boarding a bus on her scooter, Emma Bowler asks whether we're headed towards more accessible public transport. It's a journey on which she also encounters something of a paradox

Every day thousands of people get on and off buses without giving it a second thought. While I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles, flown all over the world, taken the train, been on boats, tuk tuks and horse and carts on my own but I'd never dared catch a bus solo on my mobility scooter.

Although "at one" with my disability I feel uncomfortable when it becomes the focus of attention in a public arena and using buses seemed fraught with the possibility of this happening.

Would the driver notice me and willingly help me? What would I look like when I was left "Nelly no mates" at the stop because the ramp didn't work? Would everyone hate me for holding up the bus while the driver got the ramp out and so on.

Transport service providers are obliged, under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, to make "reasonable adjustments" if their services are not fully accessible to disabled people. But it's also clear that being a disabled bus-user isn't necessarily a positive experience.

Wheelchair-user Vanessa Rumble finds using buses is a bit hit and miss.

"There are some good drivers out there but there are others who just don't know how to park the bus in order for the ramp to work. There are also those whose disability awareness training is sadly lacking - I have been asked by a driver 'Isn't there specialist transport for people like you?'"

In spite of the possibility of such a negative experience happening to me it was the credit crunch that finally forced me to confront my final travel frontier.

I'd organised a trip to London and realised that getting around by cab was going to cost me a fortune. There was nothing for it - I was going to have to bite the bullet and get on a bus otherwise I'd be drinking lime and soda all weekend instead of quaffing nice wine, and that would never do.

Having successfully negotiated my train trip up to London I braced myself for my "bus challenge". I had used an online journey planner to work out which bus I needed, the times it might arrive and referred to a map to see exactly where the stop was. This advanced planning certainly eased my anxiety; I found the stop and saw my bus number was on it, so far so good.

The first thing that caused me to relax slightly was that people in the queue seemed to be looking out for clues as to whether I wanted to board the bus they were getting on, some even asked me outright if I needed a hand.

When my bus arrived the driver seemed to be trying to ignore me but being a "now or never" moment I requested the ramp. It was broken.

Wheelchair-user Keith Gray tells me: "There was a time when the ramps always worked whereas now there's always a possibility that it won't.

Sometimes the ramp just won't come out; other times it can't settle on the kerb and goes straight back in. I have a feeling they are getting a bit slack on the maintenance which is needed as the ramps get older."

On the subject of dodgy ramps a Transport for London [TfL] spokesperson told me: "Transport for London takes the issue of accessibility very seriously.

Wheelchair ramps are not an optional extra on London's buses - they must be working before a bus leaves its garage. TfL do carry out audits to check the ramps are working and there's been a marked improvement in recent years."

TfL say that if you encounter problems with a wheelchair ramp you should contact their Customer Services giving details about where and when the problem occurred.

Luckily for me that "Nelly no mates left on the kerb" moment was short-lived as literally the next bus was "my" bus again. This time the extremely obliging driver put the ramp out, I positioned myself in my slot and off we went. I'd done it!

My next conundrum was how was I supposed to inform the driver that I wanted to get off? If I pressed the button next to the wheelchair space would that mean the driver knew I, specifically, wanted to get off? I started to work out whether I could get to the front of the bus and back to my scooter before being hurled to the floor as the bus lurched forward or stopped.

I picked my moment just as a traffic light went red; I wobbled to the front and told the driver where I wanted to get off. When we arrived he promptly put the ramp out and I was away. I felt like going back and saying "thank you so much for making my first solo bus journey so fabulously wonderful" but I thought he might think it a tad over the top. I did however celebrate with a cocktail!

Actually it felt slightly silly to have avoided this moment for so long but I really had to be pushed into this situation in order to do it. My reticence is not unusual. Federico Moscogiuri, Head of Policy and Campaigns for Arthritis Care, tells me: "A lack of confidence in being able to get to where you want to go without excessive difficulties or discomfort holds many disabled people back from even attempting to use public transport. This self-imposed confinement is the result of external obstacles such as poor information, lack of seating or access at bus stops, or negligent behaviour, for instance drivers failing to stop close to the kerb."

A recent article in Arthritis News says that according to the Department for Transport the national average is that nearly six out of 10 buses are low-floor and wheelchair accessible - although including figures for London, where all 8,500 buses now have a wheelchair space, makes things look better than they are in many places outside the capital.

So while there has been an improvement in the accessibility of buses the unpredictable nature of bus travel and availability of accessible buses still holds disabled people back from using them. By 2017 all buses are required to be wheelchair accessible, which may help matters.

Other useful developments are also underway. For example, all 8,500 London buses now have iBus audio information - though it's all too often not working or switched off - and on-bus passenger information displays. These can be particularly useful for blind and partially sighted travellers and hearing impaired passengers, as well as for people on unfamiliar routes.

One regular blind bus-user, Emma, says: "iBus is very clear, understandable and massively useful. If it isn't on I always approach the driver to make sure they didn't just turn it off because it was bugging them."

She suggests a potential future development. "Another improvement would be if something outside the bus or on the bus stop called out the number of the approaching bus. It's annoying to have to poke your head in and ask the driver when the rest of the process can be done independently."

As access improves, another mildly paradoxical problem is emerging. Keith Grey explains: "There are definitely more wheelchair-users using the bus routes I use which is a problem when there is only one wheelchair space on each bus. It is now increasingly likely that there is another wheelchair-user waiting to get on the bus, or one already on the bus, I want to get. They are going to have to look at increasing the number of wheelchair spaces on the buses."

As the cost of public transport and petrol prices continue to rise, bus travel, which is free to many disabled people, becomes an increasingly appealing option. There's still some way to go before disabled people can be assured of a smooth journey but at least we seem to be heading in the right direction.