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All replacement buses should be ‘fully accessible’, a disability equality charity has demanded after a passenger criticised vehicles provided by Transport for Wales (TfW).

Caerphilly Observer recently reported that disabled passenger Jonathan Errington, 37, felt that rail replacement buses had left him feeling “trapped” and “disadvantaged”.

Mr Errington said the replacement vehicles provided by TfW make travelling more difficult or are so unsuitable that he cannot use them at all – meaning that he must find alternative transport. 

Replacements often come in the form of coaches or small, single-decker buses, according to Mr Errington. 

Coaches mean he has to disassemble his mobility scooter himself in order to board whereas small single-decker buses – with a sharp angle at the entrance – often mean that scooters like Mr Errington’s, that fit on trains, cannot board at all. 

“If they’ve got a rail replacement service and pre-booked accessibility customer,” said Mr Errington, “they should have alternative transport ready.”

Mr Errington added: “I shouldn’t be disadvantaged…because it’s better for everyone else.” 

Now, disability equality charity, Scope, has commented on the matter.

Alison Kerry, of disability equality charity Scope, said: “Disabled people have a right to be treated equally, rather than like second-class citizens, when using any public transport.

“Our current system makes travel unnecessarily hard if you’re disabled. When train operators put on their replacement bus services, they need to ensure that their disabled customers are aware of the accessibility of these buses, well in advance.

“Ultimately, we believe all replacement buses ordered should be fully accessible to avoid unnecessary stress, inconvenience and the extra costs needed to make alternative arrangements for their disabled passengers.”

In response to Mr Errington’s comments, Marie Daly, chief customer and culture officer at TfW, said: “It is disappointing to hear the poor experience this customer had when using our services and we apologise for the unnecessary distress this has caused.

“We work closely with bus operators to ensure we have an accessible vehicle available when operating replacement buses. Where we have staff deployed, we will always do what we can to support customers with their journey and all bus co-ordinators have received mandatory accessibility and inclusion training as a part of their recruitment process.

“For planned rail replacement services we provide accessible vehicles more than 95% of the time and where accessible buses are not available, we will provide accessible taxis for customers.

“We’re investing hundreds of millions of pounds into brand new trains and station improvements, which will significantly improve accessibility across the Wales and Borders network. This work is guided by our Accessibility and Inclusion Panel to ensure we are meeting the needs of passengers who require assistance.”

Visit TfW’s website for more information about travelling with a mobility scooter.