Poor public transport makes journeys exhausting

My name is William. I was born profoundly deaf and blind in my right eye.

In my own time, I attend gigs on a regular basis and I like to think that I have a very busy social life! 

I am currently working at a university to support other students to gain the accessibility they need for their studies.

I volunteer in my spare time to support a charity called Attitude Is Everything, promoting deaf and disabled access to live music.

Last year I was also honoured to be invited to become a Trustee Director of Decibels, based in Reading.

So I need to get around – I use public transport a lot! 

Unfortunately, it is not always the most straightforward process. 

Negative experiences tend to happen when a last minute decision was announced either on the train or at a station but due to being deaf, we cannot hear the instructions of the announcement.

I can appreciate that some changes are unforeseeable but there have been cases when I got on the wrong train and ended up going in the opposite direction due to a last minute announcement that I missed. 

This could be prevented 

It makes me very frustrated when there is a lack of ‘visible’ information for people who are deaf. 

Poor public transport makes my journeys even more exhausting on top of my usual commute. 

It has also made me miss vital appointments and late for important meetings. I usually get an earlier train to prevent myself from being late. I never like to turn up late!  

Public transport needs to have more visibility information when it comes to announcing last minute changes, both at the station and on the train.

When we see the captioning for where the train is stopping, any last minute changes should also be typed and to be added into the captions so deaf people can pick up the instructions too. 

#GetOnBoard

I am hoping that the campaign will raise more awareness for people with hidden disabilities and there will be an improvement on accessibility when it comes to public transport.