Surbiton - Wimbledon by train

… in a wheelchair

http://www.tfl.gov.uk

(click to enlarge)

rules are rules...

… create them, advertise them, advertise yourself through them, then you have to act by them…
I was in Kingston earlier in the week, waiting in the rain for a bus back to my hometown of Surbiton. A bus arrived, but the driver explained that he couldn't let me on because he had two buggies on, using up the 'wheelchair space'. I am used to this and usually accept the request, and wait for another bus. I had been at work for KCIL earlier in the day, and felt it time to test the situation…
I use the buses regularly in my wheelchair and so I knew my plan. I directed the driver to the sign in the bus prioritising wheelchairs (below).

He explained 'but the buggies are here…'
So, as I was grumpy (I admit), I asked for his registration number,
'what was that?'
'Could I take you registration number please?' 
I was acting as if I would then wright and complain.
He then went to talk to the parents.
The next moment, I saw the two mothers wheeling their prams off the bus. 
I apologised sincerely, to which the parents very willingly accepted, and I timidly boarded the bus, in their place.

I felt bad, and guilty. I have just accepted the bus driver's initial denial, on every other occasion. 
'there is nothing wrong, you are just playing by the rules' i told myself, consoling my misdemeanour. 

RBK rail

Hello, I type this as I am currently a wheelchair user, living in Surbiton, working in Kingston as a volunteer for KCIL (Kingston Centre for Independent Living).

I have developed a blog aimed at discussing relative transport issues.

http://kingstonactionontransport.blogspot.co.uk

I feel passionate about issues surrounding the use of public transport as a wheelchair user. Throughout my time in a rehab home, I learnt to travel on both trains and buses in my wheelchair. I currently feel confident in using both, where possible. The catch is, it is not always possible. I am a keen user of buses, if travelling locally. As a Surbiton resident, I am happy with using the train if going to central London. 20 minutes up to Waterloo? ‘Piece of cake’.

My one issue, is using the train on a more local scale. Ok, perhaps I am wiser using a bus anyway, for these trips. There are only two rail stations in the whole borough that, as a wheelchair user, I can use comfortably.

There are nine railway stations in the borough:

•                Berrylands, London Zone 5

•                Chessington North, London Zone 6

•                Chessington South, London Zone 6

•                Kingston, London Zone 6

•                Malden Manor, London Zone 4

•                New Malden, London Zone 4

•                Norbiton, London Zone 5

•                Surbiton, London Zone 6

•                Tolworth, London Zone 6

OK, the two, Kingston and Surbiton, are the biggest towns, offering the busiest services. These two stations are very good.

There is no linking train line between the two. Although this is perhaps advantageous (different train lines reach the borough), it does limit a wheelchair user to the use of a bus when travelling between the two. No real problem.

However this does mean that should a wheelchair user board the train at either Kingston, or Surbiton, they have to be leaving the borough. There are no two RBK, wheelchair accessible, rail stations, on the same train line. Wheelchair users always have to plan their route, informing accessible stations of arrival, so no problem again.

I study the map, disappointed that, geographically, the two stations are relatively close together. North (Kingston), and West (Surbiton) parts of RBK are accessible by train. East (New Malden), and South (Chessington) are the RBK areas inaccessible by wheelchair/train. Therefore, if one’s destination is in these areas, buses are the way forward.

for discussion?..

Hello. If you have a subject/topic, that you wish to have published here on this 'blog forum', for discussion, please email it to blog author:

patrick.goodacre@yahoo.co.uk

8th October 2013

Kingston Action on Transport

Facilitated by Kingston Centre for Independent Living

8th October 2013 at 3.30pm

Sessions House, 17 Ewell Road

Surbiton, KT6 6AF

Notes

Attending: Theo Harris, Patrick Goodacre, John Diamond, Stuart Disspain, Anne MacFarlane, Marie Cummings

Welcome

Theo opened the meeting by welcoming everybody and explained the history of the group and how the action point coming from the group will be progresses by KCIL through AH and PG.

Theo mentioned that she had previously been in contact with Highways and Transportation at RBK who indicated they would like to involved in the group. TH had emailed to invite representation to this meeting but autoreply advised that the person responsible will be away for a 4 to 6 week period.

JD brought the groups attention to the Transport Liaison meeting run by RBK held at the Guildhall or United Reformed Church which he attends and would feed back into this group.

The group talked about the other groups that focused on Transport and the various roles they played. It was agreed that this group would be disabled person driven and would avoid being driven by the agendas of other organisations.

JD advised the group of the role of the Learning Disability Parliament as an information gathering and ‘speaks out’ group for people with learning difficulties.

It was agreed that the Mental Health Parliament would be contacted and advised of KAT’s aims and invited to have a representative on this group.

Terms of Reference

The group reviewed the Draft Term of Reference for the Kingston Action on Transport and agreed various amendments.

Amendments

1.   'Facilitated by KCIL' should be added to the title and logo.

2.    ‘A coordinated approach for disabled people’ should be added to the objectives.

3.    Include ‘to be disabled person driven’ should be added to the objectives.

4.    Transport needs to be a whole service package that includes issues coming into play prior to leaving home and upon arrival at destination.

5.    Paragraph 3.1 to read ‘disabled people, older adults and carers’

6.    Paragraph 3.2 to read ‘Guest speaker on transport invited to provide input into the group’

7.    Paragraph 5.1 Meeting should be held at least 4 times a year

8.    Paragraph 7 Should Read ‘Kingston Action on Transport’

9.    Paragraph 7.1 Meetings will be made up of interested parties and volunteers who want to take an active role in improving the transport for disabled people living and working in Kingston upon Thames plus people inviting to attend by the group.

Feedback from Members

Dial-a-Ride. Group member related some the experiences they and other users had had when accessing the service due to the telephone not being answered.

Buggies in Space Allocated for Disabled Spaces. The members of the group spoke about the issues they had experienced or witnessed and how the procedures that had been put in place to deal with these issues were not being used. Specific reference was made to the issue of the abuse drivers faced when dealing with buggies, however many drivers were not using the pre-recorded messages available to them which may alleviate the problem.

The group agreed that the general public needed to be made more aware of the issues faced by disabled people when the general public use the disability spaces. The group agreed to look at how it could promote the use of the pre-recorded messages to bus drivers.

SD spoke of the how the Scottish Buses dealt with this issue and the piece of work the Learning Difficulty Parliament had undertaken. (AH asked if he could receive a copy of the piece of work)

Display and Messages on iBuses. Many of the group had experienced situations where the display message indictor on iBuses had been turned off and the volume turned down or off. The group felt that representation needed to be made to the bus companies on this matter, to promote the use of these indictors to bus drivers.

London Transport Mobility Forum. AM attended this meeting and reported back to the group the activities of the forum. Members asked if it would be possible to have a copy of the Terms of Reference of the forum.

Good Neighbourhood Schemes. AH mentioned ‘Good Neighbourhood Schemes’ to the group and their role in the transport. AM advised that they are better known as ‘care schemes’ and shared her experiences with the Chessington Care group. The group felt that more research needed to be undertaken about the groups operating in Kingston and reported back at the next meeting.

General Issues faced by group members in accessing transport. Member spoke of the many individual issues they had face when using the public transport system including lifts not working, pre booked staff member not attending, etc. and what action they needed to take to resolve the issue, including traveling to other station to change platforms and returning to the station.

It was agreed that KAT would be a medium for people to highlight individual issues they had faced travelling to and from Kingston as the incident, when seen in isolation, may not give a true picture of the number of issues disabled people have faced.

Cashless Buses Scheme

The group felt this was not an issue for disabled people as many made use of the freedom passes. The research in the local area indicated that the high use of cash on the X26 and 71 had been as a result of tourists visiting Chessington World of Adventure and Heathrow Airport. No Further Action Required

Any Other Business

‘Accessibility for All’ Article: AH brought to the attention the article that had appeared in the Metro newspaper about the ‘Accessibility for All’, mystery customer program. Many of the group were aware of the program but more research needed to be done

Big Red Bus:  SD & JD advised the group on the ‘Big Red Bus Day’ that took place on 21^st September 2013 and spoke in depth about the purpose of the First Route bus and the people, and organisations, involved in the project. MC advised that the funding was coming to an end and the future of the project would not be clear until the New Year.  The contact on this project for Transport for London is Janet Fish and it was felt that Janet needed to be contacted to be made aware of the group and its aims.

KAT Project Coordinator: The group discussed the need to find a volunteer to coordinate KAT. AM felt that they could be an opportunity to approach the Clinical Community Group to seek funding for a paid post.

Webpage, Facebook and Blog: PG advice the group of the Webpage, Facebook and Blog and how it could be accessed.

Speakers: The group felt that it would be good to invite speakers to the meeting and AM would find out the details of a person who had spoken at the London Transport Mobility Forum as had appeared to be able to give a cross transport perspective.

Young People: The group indicated that we need to obtain representation from disabled young people.

Future Meetings

KCIL were tasked to come back to the group with dates and times of future meeting for 2014.

8th October - action points

- Raise awareness to the public regarding buggies on transport. - WorkInProgress

- Revamp logo, contact Kingston Association for Blind.

Wording larger, and clearer - achieved

- Contact Mental Health Parliament through Kingston Mind. - achieved

- Blog updates weekly?... WIP

- Promote to bus drivers, use of pre-recorded messages - agenda item for next meeting

- Invite Bus garage managers to KAT meetings - WIP

- Research 'Carer schemes' (Good Neighbourhood Schemes), around Kingston - WIP 

-  Amend 'Terms Of Reference', for resubmission next meeting - achieved
- Representation is made to 'Dial-a-Ride' - achieved
- Obtain terms of reference of 'London Mobility Forum' - WIP
- Approach the Clinical Community Group, to seek funding for this post -  WIP 

- future dates for 2014 KAT forum meetings are: 

January14th             May 6th

July8th                    October14th 

at:

Sessions House

3.30pm

- Provide a forum for everyone's experiences/issues to do with disability and public transport in the area

3.30pm, Tuesday, 8th October, 2013... Sessions House, 17 Ewell Road, Surbiton

x marks the spot