Since I work in the field of web accessibility, I am constantly aware of accessibility issues, online or otherwise. My experiences before my knee surgery also made me much more aware when there is a lack of accommodation. Traveling around a city with two rolling bags behind me this time reminds me to recognize all the places it might be hard for people to access who have special needs—and that includes people with suitcases, strollers, or kids.
Unfortunately, the London Underground has a long way to go. First of all, there are long escalators and flights of stairs everywhere to bring you deep down to the bomb-proof level of the tube trains, with no elevators in sight. And long circuitous routes between the platforms for various directions and train changes. But the biggest problem is that there is the ever-present “gap” between the trains and the edge of the platform. Sometimes it is only a small gap of a couple of inches, but sometimes, in stations that have a curve, the gap can be more than a foot to jump over. Not only that, there is often a big step down from the train to the platform.
The percentage of accessible stations is much smaller than in Boston. The tube maps even have to differentiate between accessible stations that provide full access from the train to the street, and those that are only accessible from the platform to the street. What good does that do?
Navigating with suitcases reminds me of the troubles someone using a scooter or a wheelchair might experience. The paddles that close behind you at the ticket machines actually caught my suitcase at one point, and a station guard had to come along with a key to release me.
Our hotel was also ridiculous, with tiny, narrow staircases up and down levels that you can’t even negotiate with a large suitcase, much less with a mobility impairment of any kind. And no handrails or ramps anywhere. Our room was so tiny, there was no place I could stand where I could not touch the wall!
Let’s not even mention London’s famous double-decker buses, as beautiful as they are. In Boston, the buses can “kneel” for senior citizens and people who need special help.
Boston is doing much better. Probably to do with the Americans with Disabilities Act. There is much more thought and much more accommodation for various abilities than in the ancient city of London.