Break a leg !

With the Brussels Gare du Nord in full renovation, getting around the station is not that easy these days. Recently I travelled back from Ostend and required a taxi. I walked around for almost 20 minutes before finding one. I had to navigate through the belly of the station, up and down stairs, with no sign of cabs in sight and nobody knowing where to go.?

By the time I finally found one, I was drenched in sweat and completely exhausted.

What a sad story, I hear you thinking. Well, I recently broke my foot, and walk on crutches these days. Now read my introduction again…

Public Transport Breakdown

Just like most people, I take trams, the metro and trains noticing that year after year accommodation is improving. Escalators, lifts, sloped pathways, … the future of mobility looks bright. With the community trying to make life accessible for all. But the reality is that we’ve still got a long, long way to go.

I’ve been running around on crutches for 5 weeks now and I’m confronted with new obstacles every day.

Train

Train stations are the worst. By design, most of the tracks are elevated about one floor above the ground level. I'm talking stairs or escalators, which often don't even work - in my recent experience. During renovation works at train stations, detours are made for people who can run up and down stairs. Yet, the odd elevator on the detour is somehow always out of order. I'm talking to you Ghent, Brussels…?

Taxi's

Taking a taxi at a train station is getting harder year after year. Cabs are being tucked away in parking lots (Ghent), further away from the station (Ostend) or simply in a new location that the taxi drivers came up with themselves as they didn’t like the official spot (Brussels)

Ubers

But even the expensive solution of taking taxis or an Uber is not the answer. On one occasion, for a short distance, no less than 9 Uber drivers cancelled my request while I was trying to keep upright on my crutches.

Other (personal) insights: On average Uber drivers were more gallant, and friendly and paid more attention to my disability than regular taxi drivers. Yes, the scoring mechanism really delivers.

Google Maps

Even Google Maps can do better. Knowing my way around the Gare du Nord in Brussels, I knew the back entrance at the Rue d’Aerschot was the better option on crutches. Yet, that didn't seem to be an alternative you can select. I ended up using street view to identify the sketchy bar in the red light district across the entrance to have Ubers navigate their way there…

It’s been enlightening to understand the difficulties faced by those with mobility disabilities.

Getting a good sense of the way somebody else lives, sees, hears and feels, is crucial in our line of business. I should get rid of my crutches pretty soon. But for our next mission, rest assured that I will take a virtual tour on crutches before signing off on the final proposal.

Please support the initiatives that make public transport more accessible to everybody. It is much needed, more than you probably suspect.?