Travel
Buses, Trains and Automobiles
27/March/2012 04:09 PM
The current Channel 4 'No Go Britain' report got me thinking about this last year.
Due to needing to get to a London Hospital, I had to use the train for the first time.
I'd avoided trains all my life because of the horror stories I'd heard from people about not being able to get on, get off, have assistance or ending up at the wrong destination.
Well, I did have experience of the Docklands Light Railway in London - you can read the joys and woes here. In summary level entry and access was great until the lifts to the platform broke and we had to travel on to the next stop and walk back through the streets. A ten minute car journey would have replaced the half day route via the railway system. Rush hour was a no go zone. I couldn't move through the people very well and they kept bumping me and knocking my hand that steers my chair - so really they ran themselves over.
Anyway, back to trains going to london from my nearest main town station. Yes I had to book in advance but none of this 'press 1 for x , 2 for y '. I got a number that went straight through to the assistance service, quoted my assistance number and the super helpful person arranged everything. To be honest, there is not a lot to arrange - a person has to put up a small portable ramp to get on and off! However, the have asked if I needed assistance with getting tickets, carrying luggage or getting food. I didn't even have to be specific about the time - they understood I might be on an earlier or later train. Staff on the train reassured me on the journey that the ramps were organised the other end so not to worry….. top service.
Eventually I got a discounted rail card for disabled people too - so it's not all that bad.
Or is it?
Quite a lot of the stations (including my local one) only have one accessible platform - so you can leave but you can't get back without going past to the next accessible station, getting off the train and booking into another going back up the track again or getting a taxi.
and that's another thing… taxis.
I've requested accessible taxis locally and despaired when a standard cab turned up (I need ramp access to stay in my chair when travelling). I've seen taxis look at me and drive past. On the other hand, when my chair ran out of umph in Cardiff, the accessible taxi was great and the driver was perhaps over helpful of all things!
London cabs have been a pleasant ride (apart from one nutter driving all over the place) but it seems difficult for them to park somewhere they can extend their ramps out the side. I think I'd be too scared to do it alone as it can involve crossing the busy roads to a dropped curb to enter the taxi which is a death wish.
Oh - and not forgetting the thing that happened when I was little that scared me even trying out a taxi unless my job depended on it. Our school taxi broke down and the school sent the biology teacher in a mini bus to pick me up - they didn't tie my chair down and when they braked my chair flew forward and I fell out on top of two other children.
I've been scared to travel on buses and all sorts because of that incident. Park and rides involve a lot of Hail Mary's to this day.
So that brings us neatly to buses…… the worst of all. Aside the odd park and ride I have only been on a bus a few times - and that was in South Wales on holiday last year. I hate buses with a passion. I know I won't tip out of my chair and I have a belt a racing driver would be proud of but try telling my head that.
The bus system in Cardiff was good, level entry (bus lowers and driver has to get of his bum and fold out the little ramp to cover any gaps). There lies the problem - the drivers sometimes refused to get of their bum. Staring at them and asking didn't help. Some were rude and arrogant and couldn't give a toss. Others were nice and did their job and made my day much nicer because of it. One seemed to pull up and drive off again …
Like most wheelchair users I would suspect, my experiences on public transport have been mixed. Sometimes it's poor physical access, poor organisation or simply attitudes of drivers who won't use the equipment they have to let you on.
Due to needing to get to a London Hospital, I had to use the train for the first time.
I'd avoided trains all my life because of the horror stories I'd heard from people about not being able to get on, get off, have assistance or ending up at the wrong destination.
Well, I did have experience of the Docklands Light Railway in London - you can read the joys and woes here. In summary level entry and access was great until the lifts to the platform broke and we had to travel on to the next stop and walk back through the streets. A ten minute car journey would have replaced the half day route via the railway system. Rush hour was a no go zone. I couldn't move through the people very well and they kept bumping me and knocking my hand that steers my chair - so really they ran themselves over.
Anyway, back to trains going to london from my nearest main town station. Yes I had to book in advance but none of this 'press 1 for x , 2 for y '. I got a number that went straight through to the assistance service, quoted my assistance number and the super helpful person arranged everything. To be honest, there is not a lot to arrange - a person has to put up a small portable ramp to get on and off! However, the have asked if I needed assistance with getting tickets, carrying luggage or getting food. I didn't even have to be specific about the time - they understood I might be on an earlier or later train. Staff on the train reassured me on the journey that the ramps were organised the other end so not to worry….. top service.
Eventually I got a discounted rail card for disabled people too - so it's not all that bad.
Or is it?
Quite a lot of the stations (including my local one) only have one accessible platform - so you can leave but you can't get back without going past to the next accessible station, getting off the train and booking into another going back up the track again or getting a taxi.
and that's another thing… taxis.
I've requested accessible taxis locally and despaired when a standard cab turned up (I need ramp access to stay in my chair when travelling). I've seen taxis look at me and drive past. On the other hand, when my chair ran out of umph in Cardiff, the accessible taxi was great and the driver was perhaps over helpful of all things!
London cabs have been a pleasant ride (apart from one nutter driving all over the place) but it seems difficult for them to park somewhere they can extend their ramps out the side. I think I'd be too scared to do it alone as it can involve crossing the busy roads to a dropped curb to enter the taxi which is a death wish.
Oh - and not forgetting the thing that happened when I was little that scared me even trying out a taxi unless my job depended on it. Our school taxi broke down and the school sent the biology teacher in a mini bus to pick me up - they didn't tie my chair down and when they braked my chair flew forward and I fell out on top of two other children.
I've been scared to travel on buses and all sorts because of that incident. Park and rides involve a lot of Hail Mary's to this day.
So that brings us neatly to buses…… the worst of all. Aside the odd park and ride I have only been on a bus a few times - and that was in South Wales on holiday last year. I hate buses with a passion. I know I won't tip out of my chair and I have a belt a racing driver would be proud of but try telling my head that.
The bus system in Cardiff was good, level entry (bus lowers and driver has to get of his bum and fold out the little ramp to cover any gaps). There lies the problem - the drivers sometimes refused to get of their bum. Staring at them and asking didn't help. Some were rude and arrogant and couldn't give a toss. Others were nice and did their job and made my day much nicer because of it. One seemed to pull up and drive off again …
Like most wheelchair users I would suspect, my experiences on public transport have been mixed. Sometimes it's poor physical access, poor organisation or simply attitudes of drivers who won't use the equipment they have to let you on.
Guest Blog posts
07/October/2011 12:39 PM
Guest Posts:
May 20100
Full Steam Ahead - read article on steam railway travel
September 2011
My hospital experience - read about my hospital experiences
Holland to Harwich by ferry
05/July/2010 07:33 PM
Journey: Hook of Holland to Harwich via Stena Lines - Hollandica Superferry
This ferry was launched in April this year and will join another Superferry in Autumn. These cost £375 million pounds. Shame they didn't spend much on thinking about the overall experience for disabled people. Granted the ship had some nice touches but compared to our first crossing, the staff support was very poor.
Cabins.
Again, we pre booked a cabin with wheelchair access. We had our tickets printed at the car booth which they told us also acts as your room key. This was the same as our first journey.
On locating the cabin (which had us wandering the isles of cabins to work out the number system) we found the door had a small low touch pad with a slot to insert the room key card. It also had a normal handle on the door. I believe the door was supposed to open automatically. I say supposed, because it didn't work.
My husband tried several times and the light flashed but nothing opened. Eventually a member of staff said we had to have a normal key to put in the door. What use is that! The automated door was not working and when we got in we could see why - the opening door arm was not fitted but the electronics were there.
On entering you can see the cabin above (the lighting made the picture a bit orange). The bathroom featured a level entry (roll in) shower area with seat and lots of grab rails. The toilet had two grab rails either side and room to side transfer to one side. I'm not that fat but due to scoliosis, lean to the right side. When the grab rails come down they basically wedged me onto the toilet and are closer than what you would find in your average UK accessible toilet. The floor surface is very soft, with good grip but like the previous ferry, the sink is not suitable for hair washing and difficult to reach for me personally.
The bathroom is rather nice but the flat push panel to open the bathroom automatic door is situated above the side unit of the bed on the left of the cabin. So if you have to sleep on the right bed (which I do because of my spine) you can't press the button from bed. However, if you are a wheelchair user, how someone could sit on the bed, press the button, transfer into their chair and then get through the door before it closed again in about 10 seconds is beyond me anyway! The bathroom door swings back and because it is wide, there is only a few set places your wheelchair can go or it hits you and closes again. If you are standing in the way of the door the force would knock you off your feet - my wheelchair would rock with the force and it's a weighty machine. The location of the switch hasn't really been thought through in the overall design I felt and the close mechanism is rather violent (but possibly needed to close a large heavy door).
The cabins were nice though putting these problems to the side even if they did vibrate something chronic.
Customer service.
I was a bit miffed that the free wifi was only for 3 hours and the 'reception all over the boat' meant one bar if you're lucky. We also got an incredibly poor service when purchasing food as what we wanted from the menu wasn't actually available and my husband ended up with a microwave meal and I ended up with a chicken burger that makes McDonalds look like a 5 star restaurant. The guy who 'cooked' our meal was more interested in the football on the plasma tv installed in the food court than customer service. We had no offer of help to carry the tray and no 'quiet area' as in my previous blog. Too much money spent on umpteen plasma screen tvs and bars than on customer care I think.
Cabins.
On locating the cabin (which had us wandering the isles of cabins to work out the number system) we found the door had a small low touch pad with a slot to insert the room key card. It also had a normal handle on the door. I believe the door was supposed to open automatically. I say supposed, because it didn't work.
My husband tried several times and the light flashed but nothing opened. Eventually a member of staff said we had to have a normal key to put in the door. What use is that! The automated door was not working and when we got in we could see why - the opening door arm was not fitted but the electronics were there.
The bathroom is rather nice but the flat push panel to open the bathroom automatic door is situated above the side unit of the bed on the left of the cabin. So if you have to sleep on the right bed (which I do because of my spine) you can't press the button from bed. However, if you are a wheelchair user, how someone could sit on the bed, press the button, transfer into their chair and then get through the door before it closed again in about 10 seconds is beyond me anyway! The bathroom door swings back and because it is wide, there is only a few set places your wheelchair can go or it hits you and closes again. If you are standing in the way of the door the force would knock you off your feet - my wheelchair would rock with the force and it's a weighty machine. The location of the switch hasn't really been thought through in the overall design I felt and the close mechanism is rather violent (but possibly needed to close a large heavy door).
The cabins were nice though putting these problems to the side even if they did vibrate something chronic.
Customer service.
I was a bit miffed that the free wifi was only for 3 hours and the 'reception all over the boat' meant one bar if you're lucky. We also got an incredibly poor service when purchasing food as what we wanted from the menu wasn't actually available and my husband ended up with a microwave meal and I ended up with a chicken burger that makes McDonalds look like a 5 star restaurant. The guy who 'cooked' our meal was more interested in the football on the plasma tv installed in the food court than customer service. We had no offer of help to carry the tray and no 'quiet area' as in my previous blog. Too much money spent on umpteen plasma screen tvs and bars than on customer care I think.
Harwich to Hook of Holland
05/July/2010 06:51 PM
Journey: Harwich to Hook of Holland + Overnight stay at Premier Inn
Premier Inn is situated at the port next to Lidle and adjoining a Brewers Fayre. One night cost £61 at the time we booked in January. We had to stay overnight because it meant getting to the ferry 45 mins before we sailed at about 9 am. Much less than 8 hours sleep and my body falls apart. We had a roll in shower, plenty of space and the sink was at a good height to wash my hair in. Lacking in personality like all of these sorts of rooms - it did the job for the night and we were relatively comfy with little noise outside.
Stena Line - to Hook of Holland on board Britannica (older ferry).
This slightly older ship was refurbished in 2007 and was fantastic.
We selected a disabled cabin for one person as a space to chill out and appeared to be the only wheelchair user on the boat getting a large disabled cabin with tables for 1-2 disabled people.
You can see a 360 of that cabin (with roll in shower) on their web-site here.
The only difficulty was the sink is quite high and basin is inset a way from the edge as opposed to the usual type of sinks in say a Premier Inn. It was airy, clean and the beds were firm with a soft mattress topper which even I found comfy having scoliosis.
On board we had free wifi for the duration available on the decks which suited me and my iPhone!
Top Class Service
We were met just outside the lifts by a steward who said they had a reserved area for wheelchair users on board away from the crowds of people and closely packed tables. So, just to the side of everyone else were 3 tables by a window, with a rope barrier and larger access space clearly signed 'reserved for our wheelchair accessible guests' which made me giggle as perhaps the intention got lost in translation now everything was Dutch/English bilingual. Either way, our steward said just to ask if anyone took our spot and he would 'hoof them out'. Sounds good. Not a single person or child tripped over us in our lovely corner and it was away from the hustle and bustle which was lovely. Some people might see it as segregation but there are times and situations you really need your own spot - not just wheelchair users but other people with impairments too. Our steward watched out spot as we went to get some lunch, went to get our cutlery whist my husband carried the tray and basically got us anything we needed. We felt like royalty,
Our meal was lovely and the journey didn't last long at all. Right from pulling up in the car, to boarding near the lift through our journey and off the other side it was very good. The ship was clean and tidy and not many people onboard in general. 10/10.
Stena Line - to Hook of Holland on board Britannica (older ferry).
This slightly older ship was refurbished in 2007 and was fantastic.
We selected a disabled cabin for one person as a space to chill out and appeared to be the only wheelchair user on the boat getting a large disabled cabin with tables for 1-2 disabled people.
You can see a 360 of that cabin (with roll in shower) on their web-site here.
The only difficulty was the sink is quite high and basin is inset a way from the edge as opposed to the usual type of sinks in say a Premier Inn. It was airy, clean and the beds were firm with a soft mattress topper which even I found comfy having scoliosis.
Top Class Service
We were met just outside the lifts by a steward who said they had a reserved area for wheelchair users on board away from the crowds of people and closely packed tables. So, just to the side of everyone else were 3 tables by a window, with a rope barrier and larger access space clearly signed 'reserved for our wheelchair accessible guests' which made me giggle as perhaps the intention got lost in translation now everything was Dutch/English bilingual. Either way, our steward said just to ask if anyone took our spot and he would 'hoof them out'. Sounds good. Not a single person or child tripped over us in our lovely corner and it was away from the hustle and bustle which was lovely. Some people might see it as segregation but there are times and situations you really need your own spot - not just wheelchair users but other people with impairments too. Our steward watched out spot as we went to get some lunch, went to get our cutlery whist my husband carried the tray and basically got us anything we needed. We felt like royalty,
Our meal was lovely and the journey didn't last long at all. Right from pulling up in the car, to boarding near the lift through our journey and off the other side it was very good. The ship was clean and tidy and not many people onboard in general. 10/10.