Cuts to transport lambasted at Hardest Hit protest
Transport for All
he anger about cuts to transport was palpable at...
The anger about cuts to transport was palpable at the Hardest Hit protest last Saturday (22nd October).
Several hundred people converged on City Hall to protest about cuts to services and benefits which are hurting disabled people, those with long-term conditions, and their families and carers.
Disabled Londoners are being hit hard by cuts to the benefits and services they need to live their lives, in particular to DLA and ESA. Transport, so essential to our independence, has not been spared.
Lianna, from Transport for All, spoke about the impact of transprort cuts on people’s mobility and independence. “How can disabled people participate in the ‘Big Society’ if accessible transport is not available to get us out the house?” she said.
Recent cuts to transport, from TfL as well as from London boroughs, risk making more people housebound or semi-housebound.
- Transport for London have cut their targets for making stations step-free and making bus stops accessible, while laying off 650 of the station staff who are so essential to assisting older and disabled people.
- Meanwhile, boroughs across London have cut their Taxicard services, and some have even cut their Freedom Pass allocation to those with mental health problems.
- At the national level, the Government is considering cutting the Mobility Component of the DLA to those in residential care, and considering cutting staff at mainline rail stations.
The Hardest Hit campaign is encouraging people to write to their MP and their local paper about their concerns about the Health and Welfare Reform Bill.
