Mobility problems of the disabled A. M. Kirby Department of Geography, University of Colorado, USA S. FL Bowlby and V. Swann Department of Geography, University of Reading, UK In the UK there are appmximate/y one mitlion disabled people included in Social Services disablement Registers. There are also about 11 mjl/jon retired people, many of whom suffer from fhe illnesses of old age: frailty, arthritis and rheumatism. Together, these two gyps consitute a substantial proportion of the ~pu~aiion whjch experiences va~~ng degrees of dj~cu~ in moving about the city and thus petinning routine tasks (such as shopping or visiting a medical prac~~ioner~; fr~uent tasks such as making a journey to work are propof- ~io#a~e~y more di~cu~r. The mobility problems facing the elderly and disabled are varied. Many are bed- ridden, and for them any journey generally involves an ambulance trip. Others are more fo~unate, and can for example drive a car that has been modified in some way. However, such cars tend to be relatively expensive; recent developments such as the Salamander (produced by Salford and Manchester Polytechnic) or the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Elswick Envoy cost in the region of &600&~7000. Unsurpris- ingly, only about 15% of the elderly and 10% of the disabled regularly drive themselves.” The cost of private transport means that for most immobile people the effective choice rests between the public bus and the private taxi. Within most urban areas, buses are cheap but unpopular with disabled users. Initially, there is the problem of reaching the nearest bus-stop, which can be up to a quarter of a mile from the home, a long walk for anyone with a mobility handicap. Second, there is the wait for the bus, which probably means standing for some time. Third, there is the problem of entering the bus, which is regarded by many elderly people as a serious obstacle. Efforts have been made to overcome this: in Sheffield, for example, experiments have been made with the so-called ‘kneeling-bus’, which can be lowered by the driver in order to reduce the step facing the passenger. This would, however, take a long time to introduce throughout the country, and is of course a wasted investment for the majority of passengers. For these reasons, taxis have typically been used by many disabled travellers. They offer the obvious advantages of being unscheduled and flexible, and can be directed exactly to the origins and destinations required by the passenger. Moreover, many taxi drivers are prepared to offer assistance to the disabled passenger. Conversely, the taxi is not an ideal vehicle for some types of disability (particularly where a wheelchair is involved) and is relatively costly; a simple journey can quickly become an expensive luxury within a congested urban traffic environment. Despite these disadvantages, taxis have been seen in some quarters as a means of ‘Perhaps more surpri- singly,very few people in the UK with mobility problemsare aware of the Orange Badge Scheme which permits car users to park where they choose. See for example J. M. Hopkin, The Ownership and Use of Cars by Elderly People, LR 96% Transoortand Road Rese&ch Laboratory, Berkshire, 1981; also R. J. Feeney, N. J. Ashford,A. Morris and D. Gazely, Travel and the Handicapped, TRRL Supplementary Report 480,197S. 0264-2751/&WO201 t 7-03$03.00 0 1983 Butterworth & Co ~Publishe~) ltd 117