Lianna at Transfort for All asked me if I was willing to be interviewed about my experiences of out of action lifts at Tube stations in London one evening – interview to be about 7am the next morning. I gulped and said yes – its a bit early! here is the article in the Evening Standard by Joe Watts. Photos were taken later in the afternoon by Alex Lentati.
my bit –
‘They don’t realise importance of making stations accessible’
Eleanor Lisney, a wheelchair user who lives in North Greenwich, has had problems with lifts three times in the last year.
The worst incident occurred at Westminster. She said: “It was more frightening because it was unexpected. My chair was low on battery and I was scared that I may not have enough power to get home.
“I can’t just trundle off to Waterloo and it’s very hard to get a taxi. You could become stuck.
“Luckily a friend went in and found a member of staff, who took me around a back way to a lift that was only used by workers.”
Ms Lisney, 56, added: “The London Bridge lift for the Jubilee Line is closed until August. It’s really annoying because I like going to Borough Market.”
Lisney, who is studying for her PhD, said: “It feels like sometimes they don’t realise the importance of making the Tube accessible.
“It’s hard enough that so many stations are not step-free. But when the accessible ones are also put out of action it makes life very difficult.”
Read the rest at http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/disabled-and-parents-with-buggies-stranded-as-tube-lift-closures-soar-10299112.html