Public transport gives me a lot of my freedom as I don’t drive, but it has some major downsides.
Today a journey I had to take, took a lot longer than it would have taken in the car. I don’t always wish I could drive but today I did.
Tag: Public Transport
I got injured doing something stupid.
The annoying thing is it isn’t wasn’t even that stupid, and I think that’s what makes it stupid. All I was trying to do was trying to ring the bell to stop the bus, and the way I had to move my arm to do this ended up twisting my shoulder.
While I am able to get on to buses and this is a step forward in accessibility, there’s still ways that things can improve. It’s not unreasonable to want to be able to use public transport, especially without being injured.
Accessibility should not cause pain.
Speaking personally I am reliant on public transport due to my disability. Therefore it being accessible to me is more important.
Travel day
If you pay attention to this blog you might notice this post is backdated. It’s back dated because yesterday I had a very long day.
I went on a train, well two, well four, if you count there and back. And I had to have a bit of a wonder in the middle there.
Wonders can look very different when you’re disabled. I didn’t travel too far, I only went round the corner, but that counts as a wonder.
Going to new places is difficult when you’re disabled, so I try not to do it.
So this is your reminder that sometimes to go on a wonder you don’t have to go far, just somewhere new.
Trips
So today I finalised some plans for upcoming short trip with family. And when I say short trips I mean short the longest one is overnight.
Now going to the majority of places leads to some element for an inaccessibility for me, I actually think that’s being generous. I don’t have the time energy or willpower to write down every instance of an accessibility I face. Honestly I think I would get bored. But the point being whenever I go anywhere I have to make the decision as to whether I’m willing to accept the inaccessibility that that will inevitably involve. There is ultimately something I have to sacrifice, if I didn’t I would never get to do anything. I’ve decided that it is worth it for these trips.
Most of the sacrifices I make surround my incontinence and personal care, for one particular trip it is no different. For the overnight trip I have to go without care for 24 hours, experience unknown inclines and access to properties, sleep in my wheelchair, and tackle the public transport in an area unknown to me.
The final part of this might not sound like much of a difficult thing to do. However growing up and an inaccessible world I know that it is possible that I may not be able to use the public transport that is supposed to form part of the journey I will be taking. In this instance this is actually the backup plan to getting a taxi, which I’m even more concerned about being accessible to me.
Now as I’ve said these are all things I’m willing to do, and to be honest there are things I try not to think about too much. I tried to focus on the fun I will be having, particularly this time, as both of these are for family parties. It is difficult though, and in many ways I am not looking forward to these events as much as I am looking forward to them.
Just remember you can never be sure of how much effort someone has made to attend something. What inaccessibility they might have faced? What they might be giving up? I’m not writing this to spread guilt. They have made the decision fully knowing what it would cost them and they still wanted to come. Consider it a privilege that everyone who can attend has. And don’t blame those that can’t, for not.
Finding a different path.
So tonight I went to an acoustic concert, very nice and a different experience. But this post isn’t about the concert, it’s about getting to the concert.
As this was at a venue that they had not been to before, I had to follow maps in order to get there, as you do. But once I found out where it was, I realised that there was an easier way to get there. I understand that this is the case a lot of the time when you simply follow google maps. But when you’re disabled this can be a lot more complicated.
The route that google sent me had me going on the road, and on an even pavements that I nearly tipped on. The route that I figured out on the way home had pavements that were a lot smoother and a lot wider.
I’m not exactly sure how this would be done, but I feel like Google Maps needs a feature that highlights the accessibility of areas better. it has gotten better by giving accessible routes at least in my area over public transport. But this does not seem to apply to roots that you would walk.
The takeaway from this post is, is of course to leave for the venue if you have not been before, well before the time you need to be there in order to make sure you’re not late. in keeping with a past trend on social media, you may want to call this disability math. Or at the very least disability time management.
Today was a long day
It was a very long day today which being disabled made more difficult. Or to rephrase how I’m supposed to say things like this in society, societies inaccessible made things harder for me today.
Though I went on both trams and trains, the most complicated part of the travel was in a taxi. Taxis don’t are so inacessible.
I don’t really have the energy to explain more than this. I apologise.
Out past curfew.
Now don’t get me wrong I don’t technically have a curfew however the care that I need usually means I have to be home for a certain time. At least as I begin writing this I am sat on the bus, several hours after this time. Though by the time I finish this post I will likely be home. As my journey on the bus is short so I don’t think I will have the time to finish the post before I get off.
I do apologise as I finish writing this it is in fact the next day. That is the cost of staying up late. I slept 11hours and woke up tired. Not forgetting that ih the middle of this I had my care.
It’s odd getting to be our when you want to be, especially when your body isn’t used to being out. Your brain is like woo, we’re out being an adult, this is awesome. Your body I’d like when do we get to go to bed?
My body is used to the curfew pushed on to me. This makes it hard fo brake even when I want to, despite never wanting it in the first place. This makes it seem like I choose the curfew even though I didn’t. Then it can be even harder to argue not needing it. Though in all honesty while I don’t need or want the curfew because I have carers I will always have it.
Not strictly answering the question.
What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it?
This isn’t exactly the last thing I was searching for online but it is the most interesting. Technically speaking the last thing I googled online was a British pound to US dollar conversion tool.
After seeing on a tiktok how much disabled Americans who are on benefits, have to live on I wanted to compare this to disabled people in the UK. I’m not going to answer who is better off, if you want the answer I suggest Google yourself.
But I recently had to Google for a train journey I’ll be taking next week. Its been a while since I’ve been on a train. The last time was soon before I lost my mum. Truth be told I’m kind of nervous.
Thankfully from an accessibility point of view, I have been able to book wheelchair assistance using an app, which I really appreciate on a personal level as it avoids me having to make any kind of phone call. I hate phone calls.
But anyway, I’ll let you know how it goes.
Today’s travel.
So as today is day of travel for me, I’m getting a lot of public transport to do today’s errands. As I write this I have just been denied access to what would have been my third bus or the day because there was already someone in a wheelchair on it.
After I wrote this, I lost my bank card and ripped a sling. It turned into one of those days I guess, where everything went wrong. So I apologies for how poor this post is.
Public transport.
What do you love about where you live?
As I’m unable to drive public transport is how I travel, its how I access the word. It is vital to me, my independence and my freedom.
My Inaccessible Life 