Great Western Coffee Shop

The West's biggest train operator has been accused of discrimination against the disabled after banning motorised mobility scooters on its carriages. First Great Western has banned the scooters from its entire fleet, claiming their average weight of 220lbs causes "weight issues". First's smallest engine weighs in at 24.75 tonnes.

The ban emerged after disabled war veteran John Morris tried to board a train in Weston-super-Mare, but was told he could not board with his Roma Cadiz mobility scooter.

Age Concern Bristol says the move is "unjust" and 90-year-old Mr Morris, a former Lance Sergeant in the Grenadier Guards, is threatening legal action. Mr Morris, a veteran of the North Africa campaign in the Second World War, was told the scooter was too big and heavy ^ because he has driven it aboard trains for four years, including on First's services. Mr Morris first became aware First Great Western had a problem with the scooter when he was on his way to a Somerset county cricket match in Taunton last month.

"I got on to the two-carriage train at Worle with no problem ^ the ticket collector put down a ramp so that I could drive on and telephoned ahead to make sure a ramp would be ready when I changed trains at Weston-super-Mare. But when I got to Weston, the customer services man upbraided me as if I was a child. I had to travel to Taunton by taxi instead, but after the match I went to Taunton train station and drove on to the train back to Worle with no problem. It makes no sense."

A week later Mr Morris tried to travel to Hungerford by train to welcome home troops from his old regiment who had been deployed in Afghanistan. He added: "I'd already arranged my transport to the event for the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards in Hungerford last weekend with the help of the train company, but then I got a letter from them saying that I should not take the buggy on board and warning me not to pressurise staff. I think it is defamatory to suggest that I have pressurised staff or would do so. The letter was very humiliating."

Members of the Bristol branch of the Grenadier Guards arranged for him to travel by taxi, and paid his fare. Jessica Lewin, of Age Concern, Bristol said: "It is unjust to discriminate against people on the grounds of age or disability. Public transport is a lifeline to many older and disabled people and plays a key role in them maintaining their independence and combating isolation. It's sad in the 21st century that older people and those with disabilities are denied access to services that are taken for granted by many."

A First spokesman said: "Motorised scooters aren't designed to go on our trains. They are designed for the road and there are weight issues. We are able to accommodate motorised wheelchairs and we do our very best to make sure we accommodate and assist people."

Regarding models of scooters First do allow on its trains, it says in an online policy document: "It is the passenger's responsibility to load it (the scooter) on/off the train. We ask the disabled passenger or their travelling companion to ensure that the scooter is folded down ready for boarding prior to the trains arrival."

Perfectly reasonable, they are bloody massive. Serves a lot of them right I suppose for driving them round like they own the pavement.

see points 9.2 Heavy and Light Rail, and Appendix C - Train Operating Companies' policies for the carriage of mobility scooters

FGW policy is to only carry folding wheel chairs, another interesting point is that the these mobility scooters have a maximum safe gradient of use of 8 degrees, with a majority of stations requiring up to a 16 degree ramp to access trains from platform, which exceeds permitted usage of the scooter!

Wheelchairs and powered scooters

All First Great Western train services can carry manual or powered wheelchairs up to the following dimensional and weight limitations: -

Width 700 millimetres (650 mm on Coach G First Class HST)
Length (including footplates) 1200 millimetres
Weight (including passenger) 300 kilograms

Some powered scooters are effectively road vehicles and unsuitable for carriage on public transport. Equally, many others may be folded down into manageable sized components that are no larger or heavier than other pieces of luggage regularly conveyed on trains.

The majority of scooters have a wider turning circle than wheelchairs occupying the same dimensional footprint and are not therefore, appropriate to take on board our services.

We do undertake however, to carry those models of scooter that can be folded down into lightweight and manageable components on our services.

We ask that the passenger, or their travelling companion, ensure that the scooter is folded down ready for boarding prior to the train's arrival.

Where necessary, passengers may use the station wheelchair pushed by our staff to board the train. The folded scooters can be stored safely in the luggage compartments. Our staff will offer assistance with storing these components.

For reasons of safety we must insist that powered wheelchairs and scooters do not exceed 2 mph on station platforms and under no circumstances should they go beyond the yellow line running parallel to the platform edge when operational.

Teignmouth stroke victim's wheelchair train 'ban'

A rail operator has apologised to a disabled passenger after staff tried to "bar" him from a train.

Tim Mason, 49, from Teignmouth, Devon, was told he could not travel on the First Great Western (FGW) train if his wheelchair could not be folded away. Mr Mason, who suffered a stroke six years ago, said he was "shocked and amazed" as he had been travelling regularly on trains for three years.

FGW admitted it had "let Mr Mason down" and has offered him free travel.

Mr Mason was told by a member of the platform staff that fixed wheelchairs were not allowed on FGW trains because passengers had to be able to get into a train seat and fold up the wheelchair. When he said he was a regular traveller, he was told it was "illegal" and staff at Teignmouth should not have let him board the train.

FGW said it puts a great deal of effort into ensuring customers with wheelchairs could use its services, including arranging free transport to and from stations that have no step-free access. Spokesman Dan Panes said despite the company's best efforts, some large mobility scooters could not be safety carried - either because they could not be driven on ramps with an incline of more than 8% or because they were too big for the main carriage and blocked emergency exits.

However, in Mr Mason's case, neither of these problems existed.

"It is a shame we let Mr Mason down on this occasion," Mr Panes told BBC News. "We're really sorry this has happened - it shouldn't have done. We're already re-briefing all our colleagues to make sure a situation like this doesn't happen again, and we'll be offering Mr Mason three months' complimentary travel on our services by way of an apology."

Mr Mason, who used to run a hair salon before his stroke, has written to his MP, Anne Marie Morris, about the incident.

of course one solution would be to restart Motorail.   ;)

Nodding donkeys are off limits for anything bigger than a folding bike.

There does seem to be an increase in the number of scooters and a decline in electric wheelchairs.  Is it just a fashion thing (people thinking wheelchairs are "uncool"?) or maybe they have just become more affordable.

What Advantages and Disadvantages Does an Electric Medical Scooter Offer?


An electric mobility scooter is an excellent, low-cost way to be able to travel independently, both indoors and outdoors. Many people prefer a medical scooter over an electric wheelchair because they simply look cooler. There is a psychological advantage to not being confined in a wheelchair, and scooters offer a wide variety of styles, colors, and designs to make using a scooter more fun.