Equal access for disabled users of public transport
My daughter has recently become a full time wheelchair user. She is young, bright and despite her disabilties wants to get on with life alongside her peers. As a family we fully suport this and have tried to re-build her confidence to enable her to achieve a full life. One very basic area in which she is at a real disadvantage is in the use of public transport (in London, though I have no doubt that the same issues exist elsewhere). As a wheelchair user, it is nigh on impossible for her to use any form of public transport other than buses, which are in the main supplied with a wonderful gadget; a ramp entrance immediately accessing the parking space for wheelchairs. Unfortunately, these spaces are commonly used by mothers with babies, buggies and mounds of shopping. Only too often, the bus will arrive but will not allow my daughter on because the space for wheelchairs is already taken by these buggies. I do sympathise with Mum's with young children (afterall I was one of them many years ago), however, buggies can be folded, and Mums can sit down with their babies. Wheelchairs can not be folded, and those who are totally dependent upon them are unable to sit in a normal seat. I have spoken to a number of drivers who sympathise but say that it is not company policy to ask Mum's to consider the needs of disabled users, and that in any case, they fear abuse from passengers if they were to do so. Unofortunately this leaves wheelchair users such as my daughter in an impossible situatin whereby they are unable to actually access public transport - there seems to be an expectation that if your legs don't work that nothing else does and that you won't be wanting to leave the house. Surely some sort of priority should be given to considering the needs of the disabled, afterall it could be any one of us and as our population grows older, potentially so will the numbers of people needing this little bit of extra compassion and support? If you can support this petition please do - perhaps it will be the voice of your family, friends or even yourself in the future and if we are one voice somewhere along the line someone will listen and put into place some sort of system to help.
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