The subway currently only has two accessible stations on its routes
While the Glasgow Subway celebrated its 129th birthday last December, the circular subway only has two accessible stops out of fourteen across the city of Glasgow – Govan and St Enoch. For users with a disability, this means that the majority of the city is inaccessible at times, with buses frequently turning away disabled passengers, taxis offering high prices, and train services often being cancelled or available on inaccessible stations.
Access2Transport was created by Rae, a wheelchair user and activist who is campaigning for better accessibility on Glasgow’s subway network. On the group’s Instagram, Rae has posted vlogs on how they navigate the subway currently, which often involves having to sit on escalators or stairs and move down them, which means “actively put[ting] myself in more pain and more fatigue” in order to get to their classes or destination.
Speaking on Instagram, Access2Transport said: “This is a wake up call to the reality of an inaccessible subway system. I should be able to not have to push my body to the absolute limit and leave behind my dignity just to get from A to B on public transport. Buses refuse me and taxis are expensive, this means the only form of public transport I can rely on to get me somewhere is the inaccessible Glasgow subway”.
The group aims to encourage the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), the body in charge of the subway and bus systems across Glasgow, to take action to make stations accessible to all users, rather than promise to make changes in the future.
Speaking to Bethany Watt at Disobedient magazine, Rae stated: “After I began seeing the ‘modernisations’ so clearly not having access or disabled people in mind while making these designs, such as ticket scanners now placed higher, making it passively hostile in the architecture. This is going backwards when we should be pushing for access forwards. access2transport is for reminding people that access is for all, and the public can make a change. We want to work with everyone to make real, tangible change happen”.
The issue of accessibility on Glasgow’s subway system has been ongoing, with an article posted in the TFN in March 2016 stating that despite a £200m boost to the Subway network, including driverless trains and wheelchair accessible spaces on the subway “Glasgow Disability Alliance (GDA) said many disabled people will never see the trains because the platforms and stations are inaccessible”.
The SPT website states: “SPT is committed to maintaining and continually improving accessibility standards across our services, in line with the requirements of the Equality Act 2010. We recognise that every customer has unique needs, and our goal is to make travel as inclusive as possible for all.
“Our approach to accessibility includes regular assessments of our facilities, vehicles, and services to ensure compliance with legislative standards and to identify areas for further enhancement. We are dedicated to removing barriers to travel and providing all customers with equal opportunities to access our network safely and comfortably”.
Access2Transport have planned a peaceful protest on 22 March at Hillhead Subway station to raise awareness and “push for Subway access”. They state: “We must show everyone (including and ESPECIALLY SPT) that inaccessibility is unacceptable. Show everyone that we know better…So together we stand, sit, wobble and roll. We unite in the fight, transport access for all”.
mage: https://www.spt.co.uk/media/lvel1iye/subway-modernisation.jpeg
