Rachael Lewis
BBC Radio WM
Leanne Allen often struggles to navigate big cities due to people parking in front of dropped kerbs
When travelling from Solihull to Birmingham, Leanne Allen’s journey is disrupted as soon as she starts.
The 35-year-old is a writer, and relies on public transport when travelling for work, but as a wheelchair user she often faces delays due broken lifts, assistance not arriving, and inconsiderate parking.
The lift at Chiltern Railways’ Solihull Station has been broken for six weeks, with the rail operator providing taxis and apologising for the issue.
Ms Allen said: “If I can’t cross a road on Monday, and on Tuesday I get left on the train, and on Wednesday the lift is broken, the cumulative effect of that is just incredibly tiring.
“The overall message is, listen to disabled people.”
The lift at Solihull station has been broken for six weeks, causing disruption for every journey Ms Allen makes
The free replacement taxis mean Ms Allen can still travel, but it extends her journey by at least 30 minutes, if not longer at rush hour.
However, on one occasion a taxi did not arrive, with Ms Allen saying passenger assistance at Chiltern told her “there was nothing more they could do”
A spokesperson for the rail operator has since told the BBC “there were some difficulties sourcing a taxi”.
They added that the company was “continuing to work with Network Rail to resolve a fault with the lift at the station” but despite temporary fixes, “the lift continues to have persistent issues”.
Once in Birmingham, there are more problems to navigate, Ms Allen uses dropped kerbs to cross the road safely, however these are often blocked.
Ms Allen said she experienced “people parking across them, leaving bikes, bin bags, scaffolding. Lots of obstacles”.
“It just feels very dangerous,” she added. “I don’t think anyone takes any notice of the signage, I just don’t think people see it as a punishable thing, so they won’t stop doing it if there is no consequence”
Once in Birmingham, there are more problems for Ms Allen to navigate, including people blocking dropped kerbs
Ms Allen also travels to London for work and leisure, and said she faced similar difficulties there.
Even getting to the capital can be problematic, as rail operators occasionally forget to send assistance when the train arrives.
“Now they have got an app, it has made a really big difference. But in terms of actually actioning the assistance, I’ve had so many fails.
“I’ve been left on so many trains where people just haven’t brought the ramp to get me off. I can’t even describe the level of anxiety it creates.”
“I’m not an angry person but by the end of the week I think, I’m just trying to live a normal life, and these things are so easily avoidable 99% of the time.” Ms Allen added.