Not 'proper' disabled?
Over the past few years, there has been significant improvements in access for wheelchair users to different forms of public
transport.
At the same time, electric scooters of every shape & size have become commonplace on our streets. Little thought seems
to have been given to where they fit into the general scheme of things. Can they be taken on buses, trains, the Underground? What about services like
Dial-a-Ride & Capital Call?
This issue has been touched on in your pages in the past, & having recently had difficulties with Capital Call, I
thought I might contribute some opinions.
Obviously different guidelines would have to be laid down for different types of scooter. The large 8mph scooters could
probably not be accommindated on any form of transport. Many smaller ones are no bigger then ordinary push wheelchair & could fit into the wheelchair
space on trains & buses.
Perhaps confusion sorrounds the issue because no-one has given it attention. However, I suspect it goes deeper. Wheelchair
users are seen as 'proper' disabled, deserving of help. Scooter users, on the other hand, are merely those who have some difficulty walking any
distance. This crude distinction ignores those of us who are wheelchaire users but wish to maintain our independence by using a scooter
out-of-doors.
In London, while there has been a great improvement in the provision of cut-downs (lowed areas between the footpath &
the road), many areas still remain unsuitable for electric wheelchairs. If one enjoys visits to large parks like Ricmond or riverside walks, this is even
more obviously the case.
In the past I have, with the assistants of Capital Call, been able to take my scooter along the river from Kingston to
Richmond & from Richmond to Kew. I would love to make simllar excursions but at present that no longer seems possible. Have other reader had simllar
problems?

