On Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:21:42 +0100
Mike Bristow wrote:
Have you ever spoken to someone who relies on dial-a-ride or seen
the page about it on the TFL website? You keep on talking about
it, but the service is pretty poor for anything time-critical. It
couldn't replace /any/ of the journeys I have made by Tube this
year, for example.

Why not? If something is time critical using the tube is a bad idea for
anyone, wheelchair bound or not, as it simply can't be relied on. For example
I never use public transport when going to an airport. Coming back from one
to go home is another matter since it doesn't matter if I'm delayed then.

The recent move to make tube trains wheelchair
friendly is just idiotic pandering to political correctness.

Rubbish. The aim is to make it incrementally more accessible to
more people - not just wheelchair users - what's wrong with that?

Because wheelchairs are an obstruction in confined spaces and could
potentially be highly dangerous if a fast evacuation is required in a tunnel.
And who is going to carry you out? Would you rely on the goodwill of other
passengers? Aside from that most tube stations arn't wheelchair accessable
and spending a billion on making them so for the tiny minority of people
who'd take advantage of it is a waste of public money.

B2003