Public transport going nowhere

Paul Carter

A new report published by Muscular Dystrophy Campaign group Trailblazers has concluded that disabled travellers frequently have to pay higher fares to access an “inconsistent and inaccessible” public transport system.

The End Of The Line report, used “mystery travellers” to look at over 200 different journeys, with each commuter completing a survey at the end of the trip, as well as collating further feedback from focus groups and blogs.

It found that on up to a third of bus journeys, disabled passengers were unable to board the first bus because of a broken or malfunctioning ramp, while half of all trains and stations lacked basic facilities for disabled people.

It also claims that disabled people have to pay higher fares to use trains because of the inaccessibility of long distance coaches.

Trailblazer ambassador, Jessica Berry said that the report showed there was still “a long way to go” before the transport system was accessible.

“It’s incredible that transport providers think the level of service they currently provide for disabled commuters is good enough,” she said.

Grahame Lawson, chair of the Disabled People’s Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) Personal Mobility and Local Authority Working Group, said that both local and national government needed to do more to meet their obligations under the DDA.

He said: “Despite the introduction of more accessible trains and buses, we agree that it is still often all too difficult and expensive for disabled people to use public transport.

“Spontaneous travel by train is almost impossible for wheelchair-users. But it is not just wheelchair-users that are affected. People who have sight and hearing impairments have difficulty in using buses outside London because of the lack of audio/visual announcement systems.“

Rosemary Bolinger is a wheelchair-user who last year travelled from Eastbourne to Bangor with the new national Freedom Pass to raise awareness of the problems faced by disabled travellers.

She said that the findings of the report “absolutely” echoed her own experiences.

“There are bits that I would add,” she said.

“Such as on bus routes that are publicised as accessible, they will quite cheerfully change that without any warning, so you might go into town on an accessible bus because it’s marked as an accessible route, and when you go to come back, for whatever reason it’s an inaccessible bus.”

Transport for All is a body representing the interests of disabled passengers in London.

A spokeswoman told Disability Now that the findings of the Trailblazers report are common experiences of many disabled Londoners.

She said: “Despite the law and much rhetoric around accessibility, transport services still continue to fail us.”