Disability Access has Many Dimensions

Yesterday, Andy, a Unite Comrade and disability activist, posted this on Facebook. 

“Just got refused access to tram – ‘no room’. Yes it was crowded but 6 people not in wheelchair allowed. Go figure…”

Andy has more bottle than me. As a wheelchair user I would not even attempt to try to board a crowded bus during rush hour, or indeed any time. And this isn’t restricted to transport. Public meetings, cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants present similar problems to wheelchair users as public transport.

A public transport vehicle or building can be fully disability access compliant yet prove to be inaccessible. Access works on an empty or moderately populated bus. The driver is alerted, she closes the doors, the ramp is lowered, the doors re-open, the wheelchair user boards the vehicle, and positions herself in the allocated space. 

However, when crowding and overcrowding are factored into the equation space becomes limited. Sometimes passengers are so crammed in to the bus that those wishing to alight from the vehicle have difficulty moving along the bus.

Since you can’t fit a pint into a half pint pot, what is the solution? How do we fit wheelchairs onto buses, trams or trains where there is literally no room to move?

Personally, I find similar problems in public meetings. As a rule, I prefer to be close to a door to facilitate easy egress. Trying to extricate myself from a crowded room draws unwanted attention, and I feel as though I’m being disruptive.

Pubs and restaurants present similar difficulties. My friends are great. Usually when I’m invited out to eat or for a few beers my pals have researched the venue and checked out the access. But a pub with level access and an adapted toilet (my main access needs for pubs and eateries) becomes fairly inaccessible when it begins to become crowded. 

Should I expect pub landlords to restrict the numbers of drinkers allowed access in order to satisfy my access needs?

Though while pub overcrowding is a difficult issue. The same can’t necessarily be said for restaurants. The same problems present themselves when eating out. Why do restauranteurs feel the need to occupy every square centimetre of their establishments with tables and chairs? They cram tables and seating into every conceivable crack and cranny. Of course, it’s to maximise profits. But for wheelchair users, and no doubt others, it makes life very difficult.

The solutions to bus and tram design are possibly easier to arrive at than overcrowding in pubs and restaurants. Designers could look to incorporating wheelchair only spaces on buses. Spaces on buses and trams controlled by the driver and cordoned off for wheelchairs only access.  

Unfortunately, I don’t have ready solutions for all these problems. 

But of course, the tram driver should not have stopped Andy boarding the vehicle while allowing half-a-dozen passengers to board.