You may have read in previous blogs that I have a hidden disability, Avascular Necrosis. A definition of which you can find here. Some time ago Transport For London (TFL) started an amazing scheme. A blue badge for passengers with hidden disabilities, that mirrors the already successful white badge for pregnant women.
We don’t wear a badge because we are fat and/or lazy, we are disabled, but you just can see it!
In an ideal world this would have made a massive difference, and on Tube lines it does. On rail within the TFL transport area, you hope to see some impact. But NO!
Passengers on most rail routes I have to use every day are quite frankly selfish, rude and the least vigilant individuals I have ever had the displeasure of encountering.
For the most part, this is due to the crowding on commuter trains being quite similar what you’d expect on a cattle truck.
So, fellow commuters below is a quote from the TFL website.
“What do I do if I see someone with a badge?
If you see someone with a badge or card and you are seated, please stand and offer them your seat. While there are priority seats on public transport, we would like to encourage all customers in any seat, to be considerate and offer their seat to those that are less able to stand.”
Need a few hints?
- If you see someone with a badge or card and you are seated, please stand and offer them your seat.
- Be considerate.
- Offer your seat (don’t expect us to ask, it feels like begging).
- BE VIGILANT (sitting in a Priority seat with your head in your phone is, quite frankly, bloody annoying).
This is what a blue badge looks like.
Yes, the text on the badge is written in Swahili so is hard for English speakers to read. Hold on, it’s not, its plain ENGLISH people!
Yes, commuters could do better, but so could TFL and the rail companies. Last year I tried to get TFL to understand they needed to do more to advertise the scheme. They put adverts for the “Baby on Board” badges on their routes from time to time. Other than just after launch, I haven’t seen anything about the blue badge.
I hope 2018, that doesn’t play out the same way as 2017 did on public transport. I don’t want to end up throwing wobblies on the train when people sit there ignoring me.
Harumph
We don’t wear a badge because we are fat and/or lazy, we are disabled, but you just can see it!
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