Active travel does not work if you are paraplegic and Transport for London seem to make the rules up as you (try to) go along...

I have uploaded a video i took on my phone to Youtube about what happened when I tried to get on the bus on a not so busy Sunday afternoon.

The driver saw me at the bus stop. He stops the bus, opens the doors and starts talking to me. He tells me that there is a buggy in the priority wheelchair space and the parents were refusing to fold up the buggy and move out of the priority wheelchair space.

The driver then told me that he had phoned control and I could get on the next bus.

But, dear reader, I could not. There was already a wheelchair user in the priority wheelchair space. So it was not until the third bus came along that we were able to board.

Later in the journey another pushchair was allowed on the bus when we were in the wheelchair space. This is perfectly acceptable and sharing the priority space is allowed, but we were not even given this option by the first driver. 

The utter policy disaster that is active travel and it's bastard off-spring the Low Traffic Neighbourhood is making it impossible for my family to lead as full a life as we possibly can with a severely disabled family member.

After more than a year of these heinous 'Low Traffic Neighbourhood' schemes in and around Haringey the only people who seem to be being driven off the road are London Black Cab Taxi Drivers and severely disabled people.

For the second week running we have endured the hell that is trying to use a bus when self-entitled and privileged passive-aggressive people take umbrage at being asked to move from the priority wheelchair space.

This week, after failing again to get a taxi via four apps, we once again tried 'active travel' and used a London red bus to get home.

This time was less umbrage and more like disability discrimination known as ableism.

The whole point of active travel  is for 50% of trips in England’s towns and cities to be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030. By making everyday journeys simple, easy and fun, Active Travel England is working to give people the choice to leave their car at home

But what about people who simply can't 'travel actively'?

If you are in a position that you have no option but to travel by motorised transport on the basis of disability, then like us you too might be facing increasing isolation as a result of these hellish and ableist policies and schemes, you too might be experiencing ineffective mitigations, you too might be fed up of wondering if you can safely get home when you go out because people refuse to move from the priority wheelchair space.

We are finding it increasingly difficult to travel by London Black Cab Taxi due to

• Lack of availability of taxis
• Taxis simply not on the road
• Some drivers refusing us access when they see the wheelchair
• Increase cost of taxi travel due to Low Traffic Neighbourhoods

"The Big Red Book  is unique in that it gathers together in one place exactly what passengers can expect from London’s 28,000 bus drivers" according to Alan Benson on the Transport for All website.

So we should not be experiencing different level of access depending on who the bus driver is 

The Big Red Book says

Wheelchair and mobility scooter users must be given access to the wheelchair priority area even if it is occupied by buggies and other customers. They can only travel safely in the priority area, so you must ask customers to move by using the pre-recorded announcements or making your own PA announcement.

It is important you stay professional and calm as this will help wheelchair and mobility scooter users feel valued and more confident about travelling on London’s buses.

The Big Red Book says 

Ask customers to move or fold their buggy if there is not enough space for an unfolded buggy to share the priority area with a wheelchair or mobility scooter user, or if it will cause an obstruction. Do not move off until they are safely repositioned.

The Big Red Book says

iBus [the pre-recorded intercom messages] can help you communicate with your customers through pre-recorded announcements that, among other things, let them know about stop closures or a change of driver. Also, you can ask customers to move down the bus or out of the wheelchair priority area and, if your bus is busy, you can let them know that seats are available on the upper deck.