Not so easy access - in the everyday matter of getting on a bus

[farnam]

Let’s just say - for fun, that today you can't walk very well. Hey, just to let everyone join in - this is an equal opportunities demonstration, after all, why not just tie your shoelaces tightly together so you have to hop everywhere. Now, with your laces tied, lift weights with both your arms and your legs until your limbs are shaking and painful

Comments

[karen2205]

If you're using a wheelchair you automatically get free travel on London buses whether or not you've got a Freedom Pass/another English National Concessionary Bus Pass (mainly, I think because the Oyster card reader is at the front of the bus and a wheelchair user wouldn't be able to get to it.)

So, I think the better way of making a about inaccessible Oyster ticket sellers would be to centre around the elderly/temporarily disabled/visually impaired/other mobility difficulties.

I wonder if topping up your Oyster card online is an option for you? I know some people have concerns around data being collected about their movements and thus don't want to register their cards to enable online topping up. I also realise that being able to do that requires internet access, a debit card and the skills to use the internet for this purpose, which would be difficult for many people. Would your cash flow allow for you to set up an automatic top up on your Oyster card?

Dial a ride might be useful to you in the future, as buses sound close to

[farnam]

Funny, I used to always top up my oyster card on line, but then they changed the system for doing so, and it became a lot more complicated. I lost one card, got another, and just couldn't register it. You used to be able to register your card on line to start topping it up, but now you have to go to specific train stations to do so, and I can't remember the ins and outs of it, but I do recall trying a few times, and just not managing it as there were too many complications/hurdles. This is all supposedly for added 'security' but I can't really see how making it virtually impossible for people to register thier Oyster cards adds any security. It all struck me as the usual UK love of building in 500 needless regulations and steps for the perverted fun of making people jump through totally unnessisary hoops just to engage in daily life

[karen2205]

*nods* re unnecessarily complicated security systems. I was living in London when Oystercards were first introduced and don't remember any problems with registering mine. I do have a problem remembering my password because they insist on mixed upper and lower case and with my username. It looks like you can currently top up online without having to register the card. And strangely it looks like you can currently register an existing card online, so maybe they've changed the system again?

And yes definitely Freedom Pass as a longer term solution. If you get DLA at particular rates (I can't remember which off the top of my head) you automatically qualify for a Freedom Pass without having to prove you can't walk very far.

If you end up getting DLA at anything other than the lowest rate for care you will be entitled to a Disabled persons' railcard. This is useful for non-London travel, but also useful in London for trips on National Rail services before 9.30am which aren't free with a Freedom Pass as you can get your railcard discount