EddieW1 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Has anyone ever had this happen to them in Holland my wife is in a wheelchair I did not want to drive so we both could enjoy the senery but went to board a bus with her and was told no help was available and the train we had to gove them 2 days notice to get help to board a train if this is what I can expet to get in Holland I would not go back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W3526602 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Hi Eddie, Have you tried taking a wheelchair on a train in UK?OK, I haven't, but I am advised that ....... You will travel in the guards van. You will not get any reduced fare offers. You will need to provide your own assistance to help you onto the train, and pay the full fare. I would be pleased to be proved wrong. I have wondered if it would be profitable offering a private hire "wheelchair ambulance" between South Wal;es and the London hospitals. For years I have been thinking that there might be a demand for a chaufeur driven campervan, fully equiped to accomadate someone in a wheelchair plus their partner. Driver and his mate sleep under the truck. First problem ..... getting up to passenger decks on ferry. Solved by the Chunnel. Second problem .... using facilities at end of journey. Solution, provide a permanent camp site, complete with chaufeur driven car - or carry the custamer's car on a trailer behind the van. Would there be a deand? Viable? 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieW1 Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 I live in Nothern Ireland the bus has a ramp that comes down for the wheelchair and the train is just as easy and you dont have to travel in the guards van out of site as if you dont exexist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klyne Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 EddieW1 - 2010-07-12 10:00 AM Has anyone ever had this happen to them in Holland my wife is in a wheelchair I did not want to drive so we both could enjoy the senery but went to board a bus with her and was told no help was available and the train we had to gove them 2 days notice to get help to board a train if this is what I can expet to get in Holland I would not go back Were you expecting help or just surprised by the comments? I don't think Europe is as geared up for disabled people as the UK seems to be. I know it could be my imagination but you don't often see many people in wheelchairs or on mobility scooters in the same way you do in the UK. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 We used the trains on the Algarve, Portugal last January and they struggled to get a bike on the train, we didn't see any ramps into the Guards Van so it would be impossible in a wheelchair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieW1 Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 I am not against us being in Europe but if we have to act on rules that they bring out The least they could do is make life a bit easer for the disabled as they must have them in Holland. Just what do our MEP'sdo over there.Ithink it is time we all got got at our MEP's or are we just talking to a brick wall? Eddie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 More like banging your head against the brick wall, Eddie. Theyare too interested in a cushy life & working out how to maximise their expenses claims. If it's a B**dy ridiculous idea, then they may get involved (possibly because it will get their names mentioned, thinking that will show they are doing SOMETHING), but anything that's practical or of benefit to society, they don't want to know. Don't forget most of them are failed politicians in their own country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffers Posted July 16, 2010 Share Posted July 16, 2010 friends of ours always holiday in the Netherlands because they find it so much more disabled friendly than anywhere else - particularly the UK they go camping and only use public transport occasionally however, but generally find that people are more aware and more helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.