Why a green transport revolution will be especially good for people with disabilities

The Independent reported today that an accessibility fund to help train stations and underground stations more accessible for people with disabilities is being cut by half over the next five years- despite the fact that only one in five train stations/underground stations in Britain have step free access, and widely used stations like Highbury & Islington, Putney, and Moorfields (Liverpool) are still not accessible for users of wheelchairs or mobility scooters. Accessibility problems are still widespread on other forms of public transport (buses and trams) as well, as Channel Four famously reported last year.

The fact that our transport system is still biased towards the car, and the fact that most 'public transport' is actually in private profiteers' hands, means that people with disabilities (physical or mental) face significant difficulties in travelling on a daily basis, particularly in less urban areas. The majority of people with significant disabilities are not able to drive for medical or financial reasons (the unemployment rate amongst people with disabilities is 50% on average)-notable in rural areas where public transport is very limited on average in comparison to large towns or cities. Mobility-adapted cars are in any case expensive, and the costs of using public transport have been rising out of line with inflation or wage increases.

As a Green activist with a disability reliant on public transport, I can say that my fellow Greens' transport policy will greatly help the lives of people with disabilities. Here is how:

1. We will help make sure that public transport of all types (railways, buses etc.) is returned to public hands, which will lower fares and also mean that funding for public transport is usefully used to improve it and make it more accessible for disabled travellers.
2. We will thus help rural and semi-urban areas become less car-reliant and easier for cyclists, which will also improve the employment prospects of people with disabilities significantly and make them safer for vulnerable travellers.
3. Our policy of helping roll out 20 mph speed limits in most residential areas is helping make (and will continue to help make) roads safer for people with disabilities, especially users of wheelchairs/mobility scooters and people who are blind and/or deaf, or otherwise significantly visually/auditorially impaired.

With this, I believe that we Greens should help continue to widen our appeal to voters with disabilities and thus help them vote out the coalition government that has been persecuting people with disabilities, making their lives a misery, and that is responsible for thousands of premature deaths of people with disabilities and/or mental health problems.

Alan.

 

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