Jeff Mills Coastal Vacations Club Blog

The biggest problem with travel that is accessible is that it actually isn’t all that accessible. There is a need for some serious revamping of what we call accessible travel in this country. Anyone facing a disability is going to require a little more effort on behalf of those around them to get from point A to point B. Restaurants and restrooms, for example are simply not set up to allow for the maneuverability of a wheelchair. It is painfully clear that the laws on accessible travel require the appropriate access but there really isn’t much to require that the accessibility is maintained to any functional standard.

The biggest problem with the travel industry is that the disability access areas are designed by able bodied people. There are many special needs bathrooms that are literally too small to allow a wheelchair to be manipulated 360 degrees to allow for full access to the toilet, door, and the sink. 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.  Otherwise, pleasurable travel for the disabled would become 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.

What the travel industry really needs is to gather real life experience from those who have tried to navigate an airport or train station while disabled. This should come in two forms. The first is to ask those who face the disabled life on a daily basis how to make things easier for them. You would be surprised at the insight available by just going to the source.

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.

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