Improving disabled access to UK’s public transport is almost impossible according to transportation experts.
Experts say ‘sprawling’ system, negative attitudes and lack of staff support makes equal access hard to ensure‘.
Improving disabled access
Shocking experiences’: disabled people describe UK transport failures. When Tanni Grey-Thompson was left stranded at London’s King’s Cross station on her way to the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Paris this week, she had to crawl on to the platform.
“The problem is the same with taxi refusals for guide dogs and wheelchairs, or airlines breaking wheelchairs when they’re in transit.”
Lady Grey-Thompson, a former Paralympic athlete and crossbench peer, said she and other disabled passengers frequently suffered humiliating incidents travelling by train. “The system is just not working,” she said.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has failed to bring London stations up to the required level for disabled people to access some stations.
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Having Disabilities mandate equal access to transport
The Equality Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities mandate equal access to transport for disabled people.
But research bears out Grey-Thompson’s suspicion that neither are being implemented on the ground: more than half of people with complex disabilities find public transport inadequate, with issues including overcrowding, a lack of staff support and negative attitudes from staff and other passengers.
The Office of Rail and Road is the regulator responsible for monitoring and enforcing their implementation of accessible transport policies across the UK.
They do not set the overall strategy or possible interventions – those are set by the DfT – but can issue penalties if an operator defaults on their licence as the rights of people with disabilities mandate equal access to transport.