DIGNITY has been conducting interviews with citizens across its four pilot cities \u2013 Tilburg, Flanders, Barcelona and Ancona \u2013 to gather important information on the challenges being faced by vulnerable-to-exclusion groups in utilising mobility services. ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.dignity-project.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Caption-1-Linda.png\")
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Now, Linda talks to us about the differences in travelling by bus or by tram in a wheelchair. In addition to sticking to the ways through town that she already knows, Linda takes the tram instead of the bus where possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has everything to do with my own mobility. Not every bus driver is willing to help, or drives close enough to the pavement so that the plank can be neatly arranged. That uncertainty is daunting to me\u201d.<\/p>\n
Getting a wheelchair onto a bus does require help.<\/strong> Often, this means the driver getting out of the vehicle to assemble a ramp that runs from the pavement to the bus.<\/p>\n \u201cIf things don’t go well, the wheelchair can sometimes go over the side of the plank\u201d.<\/p>\n The anxiety that this causes Linda is a great deterrent to her travelling by bus without a trusted companion.<\/p>\n \u201cI do travel with my brother and that reassures me a lot \u2013 knowing that there is someone there who will help me\u201d.<\/p>\n Linda is fairly tech-savvy, and there is another thing that helps her \u2013 a travel app that shows which bus stops are accessible for wheelchair users. She also uses an app for a taxi service, but finds that one hard to use, so she usually calls them. These are the points that DIGNITY will look at more closely with service providers.<\/p>\n When it comes to travelling by tram, things can be a lot more straightforward \u2013 if you live in a town that has them.<\/p>\n Sometimes, even just the concept of asking for help can be an overwhelming concept. If things do not go to plan, the person could feel embarrassed.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it’s because of my fear of the unknown\u201d.<\/p>\n What are the next steps for DIGNITY? We will use this interview, and the many others conducted by DIGNITY, as the basis for understanding the practical solutions that could be implemented to help people like Linda. This will include holding workshops using the inclusive design wheel provided by the University of Cambridge, and scenario-building workshops with mobility providers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.dignity-project.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Caption-2-Linda.png\")
\u201cI travel by tram in Rotterdam because there is less uncertainty. The tram can only run in one direction, and there is almost no space between the pavement and the entrance\u201d.<\/p>\n