Assistance consistency
PARALYMPIAN-TURNED-LORD Tanni Grey-Thompson has called for a shake-up of the way train operating companies treat those with mobility issues.
Grey-Thompson, who sits on the board of Transport for London, is demanding consistency across all operators.
“If you book assistance, every train operating company website is different,” she told RAIL.
“There are a couple of companies where you have to buy the ticket through them in order to book assistance. Because I book at night when the phone lines aren’t open, you can only book assistance through that company, which precludes people from possibly getting some really cheap ticket options. Why should I be precluded from buying cheap tickets?”
She added: “Every system is different. LNER has a different system in place to GWR, which is different to Trainline. This is frustrating because all I want to do is travel on the train and get the cheapest ticket. At the moment it is not easy for disabled people to get on and off a train.”
Grey-Thompson told RAIL she plans to raise these issues in Parliament in September, once the recess ends. She has also requested a meeting with senior transport ministers, although she has yet to receive a reply.
She added there is also inconsistency across the network about how early those with mobility issues need to be at the station before their train departs. She told RAIL there have been instances when station staff have been unhelpful if she was late.
“There are a couple of TOCs that when you ring up to book assistance, they’re now saying you need to be at the information desk half an hour in advance of the train, whereas it used to be 20 minutes. With one train company the helpline isn’t open on Sundays, so if I want to book an earlymorning train I need to ring up and book on Saturday morning. You’ve got to be an expert in train tickets and assistance. On another website, you can either book a wheelchair space or book assistance. You can’t book both.”
A Rail Delivery Group spokesman told RAIL: “We know that accessibility issues can cause distress and frustration, and we apologise for any bad experiences that our customers who have a disability may have had with us. The rail industry is currently working together to see how we can better provide for people who require the use of mobility scooters.”