Resident blog – Oliver Woods

Last month I was invited by Knowle West Alliance to take part in a forum they were hosting with the University of Bristol to discuss public transport in the city. I rely on public transport so this was something I was really keen to get involved with. As well as KWA and UoB representatives there was a mix of people who live locally, all with their own unique experiences. 

Over the years my experience of using public transport hasn’t always been positive – at times I’ve been refused travel because there’s been a pram in the wheelchair space and I’ve even been subjected to abuse – told that if I want to use the bus I can get out of my wheelchair, which of course I can’t. Once I had to wait for five buses until one came along which I could get on – not ideal if you have an appointment to get to. Fortunately I have seen improvements over the past year or so with the introduction of new buses on the routes I use and drivers seem to be more aware of policies around disabled passengers.

The forum felt like a really positive step – we discussed some of the barriers we faced and went through some ideas they had for transport policies within the city and what improvements we’d like to see. For example we talked about how difficult it is to travel between different neighbourhoods, particularly within south Bristol. They are planning to develop routes which connect communities rather than just going in to the city centre. Another route they are looking at is one from Filwood directly to Temple Meads railway station as that’s something we’re also lacking at present.

We also discussed the idea of a single transport app for Bristol which helps you link up buses and trains, as well as meaning disabled users don’t have to go to another app to book assisted travel, as we do at the moment. This would be such a time-saver and hopefully mean we wouldn’t need to book two days in advance to use the train.

Something which everyone seems to have an opinion on is the use of electric scooters – we’ve all seen them being used dangerously and by people who are too young to have a driving licence (which is needed to create an account to hire one), not only risking their own safety but that of other road, and pavement, users. In the forum we agreed that they are a great way to get around for those who can use them but more needs to be done to make sure they are being used safely and legally. 

Over all the suggested policies seem really positive and well thought out. It was great to feel like our opinions matter and our voices were being heard. I’d love to see more of this, with the transport companies themselves linking in with service users like me to find out what we really want and need. I’ll come back and update you if I hear about any further developments with this.