There is a need for some serious revamping of what we call accessible travel in this country. Anyone facing a disability is going to require a little more effort on behalf of those around them to get from point A to point B. It is painfully clear that the laws on accessible travel require the appropriate access but there really isn’t much to require that the accessibility is maintained to any functional standard.
There are many special needs bathrooms that are literally too small to allow a wheelchair to be manipulated 360 degrees to allow for full access to the toilet, door, and the sink. Airports, train stations, and bus depots have created excessive difficulties when it comes to maintaining reasonable access ramps and doorways that are reasonable to navigate. All of these are impediments to fully enjoyable travel for the disabled.
Handicapped accessible cruise ships have been cited for not having the ability to allow wheelchair bound guests to open the doors. In fact, many of the doors are so heavy that those who are assisting the disabled have difficulty getting the wheelchair through the door. The location of access ramps, elevators, and assistance buttons are generally inconvenient enough that it can’t really be considered accessible.
What the travel industry really needs is to gather real life experience from those who have tried to navigate an airport or train station while disabled. This should come in two forms. The first is to ask those who face the disabled life on a daily basis how to make things easier for them. You would be surprised at the insight available by just going to the source.
Also, all employees should be required to spend a day learning about the needs of their disabled customers. My wheelchair doesn’t give me the right to spend less on my travel expenses and yet I am not considered for equal, fair, and even sometimes humane treatment. It is easier to push those who need extra assistance into a corner and wait for someone who “specializes” in their needs rather than taking the time to ensure that the corner I am pushed into is a safe and reasonable.
Traveling by car, plane, bus, or train should be an experience that is safe, courteous, and perhaps even right on the edge of pleasant. Yet due to underdevelopment of staff personnel and the poorly planned design of many of today’s accessible travel facilities there is little hope for independent travel. The gains of independence that have been made are only wiped away by society’s desire not to be asked to go out of their way to make sure that the disabled retain their independence.
Additional training could make it painfully obvious that the elevators are poorly accessible for those in wheelchairs and that the so called accessibility that is mandated by law is just not adequate for those who want to travel despite their disability. Just because one has been struck with an illness or accident doesn’t mean that the world should be set up to work against them.