The biggest problem with accessible travel is that it actually isn’t all that accessible. Restaurants and restrooms are simply not set up to allow for the maneuverability of a wheelchair.

The biggest problem with the travel industry is that the disability access areas are designed by able bodied people. Something relatively simple like making sure the doors are light enough to be opened by someone in a wheelchair is overlooked by the able bodied designer.  Something as simple as that could truly help make travel for the disabled more of a reality.

Often those who need a little extra assistance while traveling are denied timely access to that assistance. It is common practice to place those in need of additional help in a corner and then a call is placed to that sector of the travel department. Airports require people to wait excessively long periods of time when a wheelchair is required and cab companies will leave those same people waiting for an additional 30, 45, 60 minutes or more while waiting for the one access friendly van to come which has often been dispensed by the parent company.

Moreover, the able bodied employees of the travel industry often do not think in terms of relative safety as it applies to the disabled. For instance, airports often tend to wait until disembarking to call for a wheelchair. The  individual must wait while everyone disembarks and often wait even longer for the personnel  to show up with a wheelchair.

Also, all employees should be required to spend a day learning about the needs of their disabled customers. My wheelchair doesn’t give me the right to spend less on my travel expenses and yet I am not considered for equal, fair, and even sometimes humane treatment. It is easier to push those who need extra assistance into a corner and wait for someone who “specializes” in their needs rather than taking the time to ensure that the corner I am pushed into is a safe and reasonable.

Something as simple as requiring assistance for refueling at a gas station often becomes a compromised situation. Read the fine print of the assistance sticker and it is made clear that if there is only one person on duty those needing assistance will not be helped. Requiring those  with special needs to wait for the simple things is not only insulting, but it can in fact  be dangerous.

Additional training could make it painfully obvious that the elevators are poorly accessible for those in wheelchairs and that the so called accessibility that is mandated by law is just not adequate for those who want to travel despite their disability. Just because one has been struck with an illness or accident doesn’t mean that the world should be set up to work against them.