I'm absolutely fuming.
Some people where I live and work are having problems getting on to buses, all of which are supposed to be accessible; they all have kneeling mechanisms. The spaces in which wheelchair users have to manoeuvre are found to be too small for some people.
However, on writing to the Department for Transport, they just say that:
"Indications are that the dimensions of the reference wheelchair represent approximately 95% of manual wheelchairs and 85% of powered wheelchairs.
...Many wheelchairs have differing geometry to the reference wheelchair which may have an effect on users' ability to board buses...
...In addition I would remind you that dimensions that are stated in PSVAR are the minimum that are required in order to comply ...
...We do note your concerns in respect of dimensions, but advise that it may not be possible to effect changes at this stage."
Typical. "It doesn't work, sorry about that, but you just have to put up with it." No wonder we're so angry a lot of the time.
What also rubs salt into the wounds is that mothers and their too-big prams often take up the wheelchair spaces on buses, and some of them won't move. If it's a shared space then we have to put up with it to a certain extent, but this isn't always the case. The other day I had to sit where I wasn't really safe, just because someone was in the shared space.
Disabled people are the ones who, traditionally, chained themselves to buses to get access in the first place - where were the parents?
I've had enough of this country.
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