Transport

Sara Harvey in a pink dress on her scooter on a train platform

August 9, 2018 0

Train company faces calls to rip up scooter policy after latest ‘shameful’ episode

A rail company is facing calls to change its “reprehensible and unsupportable” attitude to disabled passengers, after one of its guards threatened to throw a woman off a train because she was using a mobility scooter. Sara Harvey was on the way to a wedding with her husband Liam and had boarded a Northern

Transport

August 2, 2018 0

Government repeatedly ignores its own advisers on ‘toxic’ train access

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The government has repeatedly ignored concerns raised by its own accessible transport advisers about the “toxic” impact on disabled people of running trains without a member of customer service staff on board, official documents have revealed. The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) has been warning the Department for Transport (DfT) of its concerns

Transport

More than 30 protesters, including Heidi Alexander and wheelchair-users, with placards about access in front of a sign for Hither Green station

July 26, 2018 0

Figures finally show how government slashed spending on rail access scheme

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New figures released through the Freedom of Information Act have exposed how the government has slashed spending on its rail station access improvement programme over the last five years. The figures show spending on the Access for All scheme fell from as much as £81.1 million in 2013-14 to just £14.6 million last year.

Transport

Baroness Grey-Thompson head and shoulders, smiling

July 19, 2018 0

Disabled passengers question watchdog’s rosy view of airport assistance

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Disabled people who use UK airports have questioned a report which found significant improvement in the provision of assistance to passengers over the last year. The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) third annual report into the assistance provided at the UK’s 30 biggest airports ranked 16 of them as “very good”, and just one –

Transport

Disability logos and word 'accessible' above the entrance to an airport terminal

July 19, 2018 0

Councils that part-own Manchester Airport ‘must address embarrassing assistance’

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A leading disabled people’s organisation has called on the local authorities that part-own Manchester Airport to address the “embarrassment” of it being found to be the worst airport in the country at providing assistance for disabled passengers. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced in its third annual review of the assistance provided at the

Transport

Head and shoulders of Tanyalee Davis looking distressed

July 19, 2018 0

Disabled comedian reduced to tears after public humiliation by train guard

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A disabled comedian has described how she was reduced to tears after being publicly “shamed” by a train guard who forced her to move her mobility scooter to make way for a mother with a baby buggy. Tanyalee Davis was on a Great Western Railway (GWR) train from Plymouth to London Paddington with her

Transport

An artist's impression of the new rail station

July 12, 2018 0

‘Scandal’ of new rail station set to be built without step-free access to trains

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A new rail station being built as part of a multi-billion pound regeneration programme will not enable wheelchair-users to board trains without the help of staff and a ramp, disabled campaigners have warned. Brent Cross West Thameslink is being built as part of the £4.5 billion Cricklewood Brent Cross development in north-west London, a

Transport

July 12, 2018 0

Trio of coach companies agree wheelchair rule changes after legal warnings

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Three national coach companies have agreed to change their rules so they no longer prevent wheelchair-users enjoying a “turn-up-and-go” service, thanks to a disabled campaigner. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has even threatened to refer National Express, Megabus, Scottish Citylink and other providers to the Traffic Commissioner, who could remove their licences

Transport

June 28, 2018 0

Minister lauds £600,000 for rail access… after her department confirms £47 million in cuts

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A transport minister has announced £600,000 funding for seven digital projects to help disabled passengers access rail travel, days after her department confirmed another minister had rubber-stamped tens of millions of pounds in cuts to a separate rail access scheme. Nusrat Ghani, the transport accessibility minister, said this week that the seven “innovative, high-tech

Transport

June 14, 2018 0

Motability calls police about disabled woman who failed to return car

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A disabled woman who refused to return her Motability car after she lost her eligibility for disability benefits was threatened with arrest by police officers after the company reported the vehicle as stolen. Mary Jenkins* was approached by two police officers in the middle of a supermarket carpark on the Isle of Wight on

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