'He had to get out of his chair, crawl along the filthy lift floor and out between the small gap.' The reality of trying to travel on Ireland's “hit and miss” public transport service for people with disabilities:
Sean O'Kelly IF YOU’RE A wheelchair user in this country, you’re treated like a second class citizen and that’s not right.
However, this was not the end of my disrupted journey that day. When I went to get the lift to enable me to cross the tracks, it was out of service. This wasn’t alerted to me when I checked online before I left. In addition to these problems, my local station, Dalkey, doesn’t even have a lift. In order to cross the tracks, wheelchair users have to travel an extra 150m over a bridge with a narrow path compared to those who can simply walk over a pedestrian bridge. I find it quite dangerous so I always drive to Blackrock or Dun Laoghaire station.These situations that people with disabilities find themselves in leads to anxiety when using public transport.
My solution is simple. The first carriage of each train, either Dart, Commuter or Intercity, should have a hydraulic ramp similar to those in Dublin Bus. We would know that there is a designated area of the train that is reliable and we wouldn’t have to give notice. I know that’s segregation but it’s better than what it is now.
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