Hastings and the accessible buses which are not....

P/S This incident while frustrating is nothing compared to what my compatriot, Peter Tan,  has to face in Malaysia. Read his blog entry.

PPS read the response of the manager of the bus company in the Hastings branch

Today I went to Hastings with Phil. We set off from Charing Cross Station and got to Hastings station at about noon.

We were actually heading for St Leonard on Sea and after a lenthy discussion with the conductor decided to stop at Hastings station rather than St Leonards Warrior Square because access out of the station involves a steep hill which the conductor was not sure I could negotiate.

On leaving the station, Phil said it might be nice to have a look at the old town but it was on the opposite direction from St Leonards for which we were heading. So  I went to look at the buses and asked the driver which had a low floor wheelchair accessible sign on it. he said the 20,20A bus does go to the old centre and he lowered the bus for me but I still could not get on because there was a gap and a step. I asked him to get the ramp out but he said the ramps were stuck down and he couldn't do it. According to him, none of the ramps of the accessible Hasting buses  function which I found incredulous.

I gave up on the buses for the moment and got on the promenade and enjoyed the sea views and breeze. I stopped (Phil thought I accosted other wheelchair users all the time) another wheelchair user and asked her the low down on the buses but she said she had never been able to use the bus and told me what trouble she had just to go to Sainsbury in a taxi. It never seemed to have occurred to her to question why low floor accessible buses did not work for her.

I took photos of the buses and made a note to see my legal advisor for discrimination under the DDA.

 


I really like St Leonards. I had not realized how much I miss the sea.




The promenade was very flat and easy to go along - we stopped at a restaurant at the seafront and ate a late lunch there.



Phil had the tagine while I had sea bass.