Accessible Travel

Accessible travel is one thing that is getting better, but it is still really poor throughout much of the world.

Some countries are much worse than others, and even in countries that do have accessibility, some cities and companies are much better than others.

I have had some really bad experiences with accessibility throughout the world. Some experiences have been so bad that I was actually told by a lawyer that I should take the company to court, but I simply didn’t have the health or funds to do so.

Accessibility in the UK

For example, here in the UK, accessibility is very mixed.

We have the Equality Act 2010, which provides legal protection for disabled people and requires businesses and organisations to make reasonable adjustments in certain circumstances.

But even though it is the law, I have found that some companies still don’t seem to care, even when you quote the Equality Act back to them!

I have had some horrific experiences over the years.

The problem is that if a company does something wrong, actually taking legal action can be extremely difficult. It can cost money, take a lot of time and, when you are chronically ill and disabled, you may simply not have the health to deal with it.

And that is the problem.

We shouldn’t have to fight companies just to get basic accessibility.

If a company says it offers accessibility, it should actually offer it. It shouldn’t be making promises about accessibility and then leaving disabled people struggling when they arrive.

Many other countries have similar laws protecting disabled people, but unfortunately, having a law doesn’t automatically mean that every company follows it.

Sadly, even countries that have accessibility can still be very poor when it comes to actually providing it.

And in some countries, there is very little accessibility at all.You Don’t Realise How Bad It Is Until You Need It

When you aren’t disabled, you don’t realise how difficult accessibility can actually be.
I didn’t.

I wasn’t born disabled. I developed chronic illnesses over the years and they gradually became worse, eventually leaving me disabled and unable to walk far or stand for long, as well as dealing with severe fatigue.

Before I became disabled, I didn’t really think about accessibility.
I knew it existed, particularly here in the UK, but I didn’t realise how difficult it could be to actually get the accessibility you need.

Once I became disabled, I saw how bad it can really be.
And I also saw how badly disabled people can sometimes be treated.

Some of My Recent Experiences

Here is just a brief overview of some of the accessibility problems I have experienced in the last two months alone.

I will be writing about some of these in much more detail in separate posts.

Heathrow Airport Assistance

Twice I had major issues with Heathrow assistance, on both legs of the journey.

I had booked wheelchair and luggage assistance at Heathrow, which was supposed to take me from departures, through to a different terminal, through security and to the gate.
Instead, I was forced to walk such a long distance that I ended up bedbound for a week and in hospital.

I had pre-booked the assistance around two months before travelling.
Despite this, I was told different things by different members of staff.

I was told I couldn’t have help with my luggage.
I was told I couldn’t be wheeled between terminals.
I was told I couldn’t get help with my luggage.
I was told I would have to pay for a taxi to get between terminals.
I was told they couldn’t wheel me, despite me having booked a wheelchair.
And there were many other things I was told too.

This is not what I expected when I booked airport assistance.
I had booked it because I needed the assistance.

TfL Assistance

TfL assistance has also been a major problem from my experience.

They have assistance points around the Underground where you can call for help, but from my experience, the actual help available is extremely limited.

They don’t have wheelchairs available to actually wheel you, and they won’t help with luggage.

So what exactly is the accessibility?

Walking alongside someone is not accessibility when the reason you asked for assistance is because you cannot walk that distance yourself.
If someone needs a wheelchair, telling them that somebody can walk with them doesn’t solve the problem.

Companies Need To Do Better

Companies need to be much clearer about what accessibility they actually provide.

They also need to properly train their staff on what they can and cannot do.

From my experience, it sometimes feels like staff are making up their own rules on the spot, while other staff are following rules that don’t actually work for disabled people.
That leaves disabled people struggling.
And it shouldn’t be like this.
If a company says it provides accessibility, disabled people should be able to trust that information.

Complaining Doesn’t Always Fix The Problem

Another problem I have experienced is what happens when you complain.

From my experience, companies often respond with the same things:

“Sorry.”
“We will speak to the staff involved.”
“It won’t happen again.”

And then what?
Nothing.
At least, that is how it feels.

You get an apology, but you don’t necessarily see any actual change.

That is incredibly frustrating when you have taken the time and energy to explain what went wrong, particularly when you are already struggling because of your disability.

Sometimes it feels like companies just hope disabled people will eventually go away.

I Won’t Be Going Away

Well, I won’t go away or be quiet.

I will be blogging more about accessibility problems I experience while travelling, including specific companies and what happened.

I don’t write about these things because I enjoy complaining.

I write about them because accessibility matters.

Disabled people should be able to travel without constantly worrying about whether the accessibility they have booked will actually be there when they arrive.

Companies need to stop ignoring disabled travellers and start taking accessibility seriously.

We deserve better.