Public Transport

The bus that leaves without you. The “step-free” station with a cliff-edge gap. The assistance that never shows. Transport is where access fails most often — and where your rights are strongest.

57%

of Tube stations have no step-free access at all

4 in 5

GB rail stations lack step-free access to every platform

2 hrs

is all the notice Passenger Assist officially needs

£0

what an accessible taxi costs you when a station fails you — the operator pays

Buses

Full-size local buses have been legally required to be wheelchair-accessible for years. Drivers must deploy the ramp where it’s safe, make the wheelchair space genuinely available (FirstGroup v Paulley), and give reasonable assistance. None of that helps when a parked car means the bus can’t even reach the kerb — a fight we know personally from our own stop in Yorkshire.

» Parked across the bus stop: how to fight for a clearway
» The ramp that never comes: your rights when the bus leaves without you

Trains & the Tube

“Step-free” too often means step-free to the platform, not onto the train. Passenger Assist can bridge the gap — when it works. When it doesn’t, every operator’s Accessible Travel Policy promises redress, and the free Rail Ombudsman has the final word.

» Mind the gap: when “level access” trains aren’t
» Passenger Assist: how it works — and what to do when it fails

The golden rules

1. Never assume “accessible” — verify. Check the station access page, ring the venue, ask what the boarding arrangement actually is.

2. Get the details on the day. Route, time, fleet number, staff names. Details turn “they ignored me” into a case.

3. Report every failure. Unreported failures officially never happened. Reported ones become statistics, refunds, staff retraining — and eventually policy.

Left at the kerb or on the platform?

Tell us the route, the stop and what happened. We’ll help you turn it into a complaint that gets answered.