4:03pm Wednesday 17th March 2010
I would like to respond to the letter regarding the scarcity of wheelchair users on the buses that Wendy Taylor travels on (Letters, March 15). First of all, the buses have not been adapted simply to satisfy the “politically correct brigade”, they have been adapted in an attempt to give wheelchair users and other disabled people the same choices as those who are non-disabled.
Having said that, I use an electric wheelchair and find it difficult to get on the buses, first of all because the design of them makes it a very tight squeeze to navigate the bend next to the driver. Then I find it difficult to park in the allocated space for wheelchair users. Sometimes, when the driver has decided to pull away before I have parked properly it is like trying to hit a moving target, and when there are parents with buggies on board it is an even bigger problem.
When I do park I’m forced to sit and face all the forward- facing passengers. Furthermore, I find it difficult to disembark because it is hard to turn the wheelchair around in such a tight space. Finally, actually getting off can be difficult because people waiting to get on don’t realise the driver has to deploy the ramp in order to let me off first so they can get on.
So the reason wheelchair users are not seen on any buses does not necessarily mean they don’t want to use public transport. It could be that, like me, they have given up trying! It is time designers and councils consulted disabled people before investing “millions” of pounds on such buses.
Harvey Cowe, Brittany Road, Hove
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