My day started off really well at first. Me and my partner were waiting on the platform at Hull station with the assistance I'd booked ready to get the train to London to stay with family. The train provider was Hull Trains and they are honestly the best company I've ever travelled with so I always start off with a positive mindset that things will go okay. They have signs in the wheelchair spaces telling people not to put their luggage and buggies in them and their staff have never forgotten about me at the destination station, I had no reason to believe that it would be a difficult journey.
So, when I boarded the train and heard that they had added the following to their announcements I was even more impressed: 'If you're in carriage E please be aware not to put your luggage in the wheelchair spaces, all buggies must be folded and the staff can assist you to store them at the front or back of the train' (something along those lines). Amazing right? Sometimes it's the little things that matter and I was so happy to see that Hull Trains understood the importance of keeping the wheelchair space free, after all their staff have so often witnessed myself and other wheelchair users struggle to access the spaces due to luggage and buggies. I've also been blocked into the space by luggage so I was happy to see that they were taking as many steps as possible to improve the experience for wheelchair users.
'I was happy to see that Hull Trains understood the importance of keeping the wheelchair space free.'
What happened next was through no fault of the incredible staff though as sadly they can't change people's attitudes. As the announcement was being made someone came on and placed their huge suitcase in the second wheelchair space, quickly followed by a woman with a large buggy. Staff were quick to act though and informed the couple that the buggy would have to be folded or moved to the front or back of the train where there was plenty of storage and staff would be happy to help them when they exit the train. She didn't like though that, even when informed that they were expecting another wheelchair user on board. The woman gave in eventually, after a lot of head shaking and comments under her breath and as offered the staff helped her as much as possible. The train was a 3 hour train after all so it seem perfectly fine for the buggy to be moved for that amount of time, once she had removed any belongings she wanted from it. She really wasn't happy though and that's when the hurtful comments began.
Throughout the whole experience she seemed so surprised that a wheelchair user might actually need the wheelchair space, an area designed specifically for them. Not for luggage, not for buggies but for wheelchair users. It's literally the only place on the train that we can sit, buggies and luggage have far more options. The first comment was 'I've never had a problem on this train' as though a wheelchair user needing the space was a problem. Why is it such a shock that disabled people travel? Why is it such a shock that a space clearly signposted as a wheelchair space is needed for what it's been designed for? And believe me, it's the most clearly signposted space I've come across. There plenty of stickers on the wall plus laminated pieces of paper further explaining that it isn't a luggage or buggy space. So, why would you be shocked when told to move your things?
'Throughout the whole experience she seemed so surprised that a wheelchair user might actually need the wheelchair space.'
That's when she started going on about trying to get her money back for the train tickets. She literally wanted a refund because she couldn't put her buggy in the WHEELCHAIR space, I don't think I can highlight this enough throughout the post, it is specifically a wheelchair space and that was clear as day to see. By this point I was angry and raging. I often can't access the wheelchair space because of people like her but even then the idea of trying to get a refund never even crosses my mind but suddenly she wanted her money back because she couldn't put her buggy in a wheelchair space. I don't think I'd ever been so angry.
Then the staring began. Every time I looked up she was staring at me and she didn't even stop when I noticed her doing it, she just continued to stare. I felt so uncomfortable and extremely unwelcome. It was clear that she felt that she had priority in the wheelchair space and that it should be a first come, first served system. I tried eating my lunch, getting on with work but all of that was made difficult by her staring at me. Every now and then she'd also shake her head, roll her eyes and try and get the person with her to engage in conversation about it. Luckily they didn't seem to have much of a problem with the buggy being moved.
A few stops along the journey another woman with a buggy got on and she placed her buggy in the wheelchair space. The announcement came on again and the first woman gave her this look, a look that almost said 'it's ridiculous isn't it'. Soon enough a staff member came along and asked her to fold her buggy, which she did without much argument but then she engaged in conversation with the first woman. With me sat just 2 metres away they discussed how awful it was that they had to move their buggies for a wheelchair user.
'I felt so uncomfortable and extremely unwelcome.'
It wouldn't even matter if said wheelchair user didn't turn up at all though, those spaces should be kept clear. It's far easier to keep them clear from the beginning than to mess around, moving luggage and buggies half way through the journey when someone like myself turns up, I've often ended up waiting by the accessible toilet until they have moved everything and even then they often let me in the space and then pile the bags and everything else around me, trapping me in.
I felt so uncomfortable by this point. The staff were amazing though, a total of 3 buggies came into the carriage throughout the journey and not once did the staff stop reiterating the message that they must be folded or moved, they never gave in. Eventually the first woman got off the train but before she did there was more head shaking and eye rolls. She seemed to have no shame in showing her discontent that she had to move her things for someone like myself. I could finally relax at that point, for the last 30 minutes of a 3 hour journey.
The whole experience left me wondering if things will ever improve. We can put in legislation, we can put up signs but if people's attitudes don't change then what hope do we have? The incident certainly left me feeling hopeless. I just couldn't believe the things they were saying both directly and indirectly about wheelchair users when I was sitting right there, metres away. Not once did they think about my feelings or my rights. Even now I can't quite believe it happened, I knew that opinions of some parents with buggies were very much 'first come, first served' but the way they acted, even when staff were going above and beyond for them, was just disgusting and I'm sick of having to put up with it.
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