I’ve been using mobility scooters for 27 years.
Finally disabled people in the UK can use public transport for free, but since scooters are in a different legal class than wheelchairs, I still can’t use public transport, unless I ditch my current scooter (less than 2 years old, L108cm*W60cm) and fork out for a smaller scooter that does not meet my needs. PIP wouldn’t cover it.
I cannot drive a car, although my husband does. Because he is sometimes too ill to drive, I investigated using the bus independently.
Acceptable scooters are 100cm*60cm.
https://tfgm.com/accessibility/guides/bus-accessibility/wheelchairs-and-mobility-scooters
Eight fucking centimeters.
When I had a smaller scooter that met the size requirements years ago – under a Tory government – I did a perfect three-point turn, in a single movement, in the required bus test.
The driver was a fetus, younger than the number of years I’d been driving mobility scooters. He’d never seen mobility scooters on buses before.
They also required me to face the back of the bus, so I couldn’t see where we were going, like everyone else, “for safety regulations”.
How exactly am I supposed to see when I want to get off the bus?
You have to wonder at the ignorance.
So much for increased independence.
What’s their excuse for waiting until April 2027 before letting disabled people travel for free?
There isn’t one, except that they want us gone.
This isn’t the fault of a Tory, or a Labour government. It’s everyone who hates disabled people, and wants us eliminated from society.
