What’s it really like for everyday wheelchair users on buses? We make an undercover visit to Norwich to find out
We’re at a bus stop. There’s a woman in a wheelchair but when the bus arrives the driver tells her she can’t get on; the ramp’s broken. Later, another driver gives another excuse.
Worse, these are not isolated incidents: All over the city’s network the story’s the same and it’s clear that drivers are using every excuse to avoid carrying wheelchair users.
But the events have been covertly filmed and now it’s the lead item on ITV’s Anglia News.
This was 2003. The city was Norwich; the Anglia News reporter and wheelchair user was Helen Dolphin.
The newsroom was getting continual reports about drivers refusing to let wheelchair users board. So Helen – a journalist and news reporter with Anglia TV since 2000 – set out to find out if it was true. The exposé was so powerful, it won the ITV Consumer award 2004.
A lot has changed since then, not least that since 1 January, all local service buses must be PSVAR compliant (previously called DDA).
Happily, if you’re a wheelchair use in Norwich today, then First will give you a good experience. But there is room for improvement.
We met with Helen, her PA Libbie Bilyard and assistance dog Fairport, to find out.
Home in the city
Helen is a semi-regular bus user into the city centre. A keen swimmer, it’s quicker to drive to her local pool, but today we’re going by bus.
We need to go from New Costessey into the city centre, change, and then out to Sportspark, on the University of East Anglia campus.
Helen has always been a keen swimmer. A Molecular and Cellular Biology graduate, on Christmas Day 1997, three months into her Phd, she fell ill. twice misdiagnosed by GPs as flu and then food poisoning, her condition worsened. Taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, she went into a coma and was diagnosed with meningococcal septicaemia (the blood poisoning form of meningitis). Septicaemia set in and Helen’s lower legs and hands were amputated to save her life.
A month later Helen came out of the coma but was so ill she spent the following months and years undergoing more than 100 operations including having more of her limbs removed due to gangrene and MRSA.
Despite this, Helen is a cheerful upbeat person, determined to make the most of life – and most certainly not a moaner. She pursues her passion for swimming and in the 2012 Paralympic trials was the fastest British swimmer in the S5 category 200m freestyle.
Today, Helen runs a consultancy about disability issues. She’s invited routeONE to see what travel’s really like on buses. Our ‘undercover’ trip is an eye-opener.
Short hops
From Helen’s home it’s 100 yards and four drop-kerbs to reach the bus shelter. It’s totally bare; not a timetable in sight. This irritating situation is repeated all around the city, apart from the city centre.
A relatively new ‘decker arrives and the female driver swiftly hops out deploys the ‘bookleaf’ ramp. Helen has a pass, but travel for a helper is full rate. The best value is a day ticket at £4.80.
All’s going well until we turn left at traffic lights and immediately Helen’s manual ‘chair slides violently into towards the aisle. It’s correctly parked against the ‘ironing board’ with the brakes firmly applied. The driving is smooth and correct. But the laws of physics remain.
The driver’s spotted this in the internal mirror and at the next stop hops out to check everything’s ok, that the brakes are applied and there are no injuries.
There are a few more slips as Helen’s wheelchair moves as we go around corners, but she’s hanging onto the side rail, while the driver is doing her best.
Once in the city centre we find our next bus shelter. Again, we’re hidden from the view of the approaching driver, but he positions his bus correctly and gets out of his cab to deploy the ramp.
There’s a little confusion, as a young woman wants to board ahead of us. That creates a problem, as she now needs to pay and the driver’s out of his cab. It’s a little awkward; in hindsight to driver should have taken control of the situation and asked her to wait.
The ride is smooth, but the chair is still sliding as we corner. Again, the driver checks Helen’s okay.
Newton’s Laws
Later, over coffee at the ‘pool we discuss the problems. Helen’s using a lightweight wheelchair with solid tyres to avoid punctures (a users’ nightmare) and sacrifices the firmer ride for this. She says pneumatic tyre users have the same problems of sliding in buses, especially when the floor’s damp.
Helen has an electrically-powered chair with a low centre of gravity that, due to its batteries is heavy. She has the same issues, despite the buses having a ‘roughened’ flooring designed to combat slipping. She confirms that many users have the same issues.
The only answer at the moment is Quantum. Made by Q’Straint, it’s a user-operated drop-down arm fitted by the wheelchair space that pushes against the ‘chair to hold it in place. Helen endorses it but so far only one EYMS and all 30 of Lothian Buses tour vehicles are fitted.
Yes, there is a cost, but in terms of safety, it is the best available. It’s a relatively small proportion of a new bus’ price.
How much use would it get? One driver tells me he sees about one wheelchair user a day (on all the routes he works), which suggests that there are a lot of users in Norwich
Our journey back is similar, and largely uneventful, once we’ve found the correct departure stop. Back in the city centre there’s plenty of people; all the buses we’ve seen have good loads, which for mid-week off-peak is encouraging. There’s an older person with a four-wheeled shopping trolley at our stop. Helen and I exchange glances; we’re thinking the same thing.
Worries
Fortunately, she takes a different bus. That’s good because when our ‘decker arrives it’s an older one with a standard space, but no room for other buggies. First’s purchasing policy is a wheelchair space with tip-ups opposite for buggies, but it’ll be a little while before older buses are withdrawn.
Again, there are issues with the wheelchair sliding on the floor, despite the earlier shower having cleared and everywhere’s now dry.
All the drivers we encountered were friendly, helpful, attuned to passengers’ needs and their driving skills were to a high standard. It’s all a far cry from 2003.
But it’s clear that however good customer service is, issues remain. The worry about enough space in older vehicles, and the violent and unexpected movement of wheelchair, even when properly secured, is a serious concern. On both points, solutions are available and should be actively pursued.
