Accessibility in the News—5/18/18.

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AITN Quote of the Week

“I do not have a disability, I have a gift! Others may see it as a disability, but I see it as a challenge. This challenge is a gift because I have to become stronger to get around it, and smarter to figure out how to use it; others should be so lucky.”

― Shane E. Bryan

National News (U.S.)

Lyft lets people with disabilities pay with special ABLE accounts

May 10, 2018 | Source: Engadget

Lyft has teamed up with the National Down Syndrome Society to let riders pay for their trips with ABLE accounts, which are savings accounts for those with disabilities and their families. They can use earnings to pay for certain expenses, like medical treatment and now Lyft rides, without forking over taxes. The move might only have a limited impact, though. It seems there are only around 20,000 ABLE accounts in use — given approximately 8 million Americans are eligible…

Woman Stranded At Airport Due To Nashville’s Lack Of Handicap Accessible Cabs

May 10, 2018 | Source: NewsChannel5.com

Over the last 18 years, Janice Windh has learned how to navigate day-to-day life by pushing a joystick. Windh is paralyzed and relies on a power wheelchair to get around, which is why she planned extensively before flying from California to Nashville to visit her daughter. “I looked up the cab companies on the airport’s website and called ahead of time,” Windh said. “I asked what I needed to do to make arrangements to be picked up when I landed.”…

How IBM built a PWD inclusive workforce: A case study

May 11, 2018 | Source: People Matters

International Business Machine, IBM is an American multinational technology company, headquartered in New York, with operations in over 170 countries. IBM hired its first disabled employee, 76 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)and since then the organization has remained dedicated to recruiting and hiring people with disabilities and helping them to be successful in the workplace. Ritesh Rajani, Diversity Engagement Partner, IBM Asia Pacific shares, “For IBM, inclusive is a way of life and not to fulfill the corporate social responsibility.”…

Boston launches accessibility survey

May 11, 2018 | Source: Metro US

Boston is launching its first-ever survey of accessibility issues around the city as Mayor Martin Walsh and the Commission for Persons with Disabilities prepare the city’s disability strategic master plan. The online survey aims to discover the city’s most significant accessibility-related needs in the city so City Hall can build upon the Imagine 2030 strategic plan released last year. “The Commission’s survey will serve as the foundation for the City’s disability strategic master plan,” Marty Martinez, chief of health and human services for the city, said….

Anna Sui on Thrifting, Accessible Fashion and Her Favorite Model Right Now

May 11, 2018 | Source: Elle

“I just want to look hot.” That’s what Anna Sui heard from a slew of models, among them a pageant queen, a Yale drama student, and a stand-up comedian. The missive should be easy—in Sui’s words, “Of course! We all just want to look hot!”—but these models represent the 17 million Americans with wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility aids. They were hitting the catwalk as part of the annual Design for Disability show, which enlisted Sui as a mentor to promising design school undergrads…

House Bill Would Create Minimum Standards for Federal Websites

May 11, 2018 | Source: MeriTalk

A bill introduced in the House on Thursday would create a series of minimum functionality and security requirements for all Federal government agency public-facing websites and digital services. The measure also would place on the shoulders of Federal agency chief information officers the responsibility to ensure funding and implementation of the new requirements. The bill–The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act–was introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and John Ratcliffe, R-Texas. A spokesperson for Khanna said the House bill does not yet have a Senate companion measure…

National Industries for the Blind denounces changes to Potomac Yard Metro station

May 11, 2018 | Source: Washington Business Journal

The National Industries for the Blind was one of the first organizations to commit to a new headquarters by the proposed Potomac Yard Metro station. Its 100,000-square-foot facility, which it will share with Kaiser Permanente, is nearly complete within The Exchange at Potomac Yard — just across Potomac Avenue from the once-planned south entrance to the station. So it should come as no surprise that the organization, which focuses on enhancing opportunities for economic and personal independence of people who are blind, is displeased — and concerned for its employees and visitors…

Compliance with ADA requirements could cost Midwestern State “millions”

May 12, 2018 | Source: Times Record News

Complying with ADA requirements could cost Midwestern State University “several million” dollars, according to comment at a board of regents meeting Friday. MSU policy manual changes to two policies were approved Friday by the board of regents that regulate ADA accommodations. The policies involve compliance with ADA requirements and ADA web accessibility respectively. Policy 3.340 states, “that no otherwise qualified person, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any education program, activity, or employment of the University.”

City seeking more feedback to finalize ADA transition plan

May 13, 2018 | Source: Norman Transcript

With an ADA transition plan prepared by engineering and design consultant firm Kimley-Horn in hand, the city council has targeted June 12 to adopt a new plan. “That’s the beginning, not the end,” Norman Public Works Director Shawn O’Leary said. “At least it gets us started on the work that we need to do to remove those barriers, rather they be at parks, or buildings, or sidewalks, traffic signals; whatever it might be. We’ve identified a lot of work to do and there’s no time like the present to get started on making those improvements.”…

How Apple devices help ‘take disability out of the equation’

May 14, 2018 | Source: CNET

Austin Pruitt, a two-time US Paralympian, walked me over to a racing wheelchair that he set up for a stationary workout routine. Pruitt has cerebral palsy from the knees down, which forces him to walk slowly, but he’s able to compete on the world stage by racing in a wheelchair. He said he used to set up a bunch of trackers on his chair to log his workouts, but now uses just an Apple Watch instead. “This has everything,” he told me. “This has my wheelchair and my walking, all in one.”…

Leaked image reveals Microsoft’s new Xbox controller for accessibility

May 14, 2018 | Source: The Verge & Windows Central

Microsoft officially unveils the Xbox Adaptive Controller for accessibility users

May 17, 2018 | Source: KitGuru & TechCrunch

Microsoft is reportedly working on a new Xbox controller for accessibility. The controller includes two oversized A and B pads, a d-pad, and the usual Xbox button and navigation controls. Windows Central reports that the new Xbox controller, designed for accessibility, will likely be unveiled at E3 next month. An image of the controller has leaked online thanks to Twitter user WalkingCat. The leaked image shows what looks like programmable A and B pads, with a three-light LED indicator that we first saw on the second-generation Xbox One Elite controller leak…

College Hackathon Designers Tackle Accessibility Challenges

May 14, 2018 | Source: EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education

Given the 11-hour timeframe, the founders of the Assistive Technology Hackathon don’t expect participants to produce usable products by the end of the event, says Jaya Narain, a doctoral student at MIT who helped launch ATHack as an undergrad. But because participants — who may be students, designers or community members — first meet at a dinner two weeks beforehand, many arrive at the event ready to go. The annual hackathon pairs students with individuals who have disabilities to create innovative, technology-based solutions for their challenges…

Disability Accessibility, Part 1- What’s being done on a local level?

May 14, 2018 | Source: FOX 15

“I saw an issue. It was literally a pole that was in the middle of a sidewalk. As many millennial’s do, I took to Facebook.” exclaimed Liam Doyle, Community Disability Activist, and Disability Affairs Coordinator for LCG. You’re probably thinking, a pole in the middle of a sidewalk, not that big of a deal. But, for people in wheelchairs like Liam, it can disrupt their entire day. “These are the types of issues that most of us go about our daily lives and don’t even think about” said former Mayor-President, Joey Durel…

Lawsuit against city seeks housing for people with disabilities

May 14, 2018 | Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Thousands of rental units in Chicago — erected in part through government subsidies — skirt federal law requiring architectural features to accommodate people with disabilities, according to a federal lawsuit filed Sunday. Access Living, a non-profit disability advocacy group located on the Near North Side, filed the civil rights suit following a two-year investigation by a Washington D.C. based law firm it hired to examine the issue. “Whether that’s because the city prioritizes developers or because the city failed to tell developers what standard to build to, we are not entirely sure,” said Michael Allen, Access Living’s lead attorney…

Austin Family Makes People Whole Again

May 14, 2018 | Source: KVUE

Sometimes going out on a limb can change more than your life. Chase Brown transforms lives every day in this small Austin workshop in the back of Capital Prosthetics and Orthotics. It’s a business he started with his wife Megan two years ago. Handcrafting prosthetics for people who have lost limbs: “It’s a lot of work. I’ve been working on this one for probably close to two months,” said Chase Brown. “It’s humbling.” “I was 60 years old when I climbed over a fence in blue jeans,” said Laura Roberson…

How to Create Better Employee Experiences for Workers with Disabilities

May 15, 2018 | Source: CMSWire & (PDF)

Companies that successfully attract and retain diverse talent have an edge — we all know that. Many studies have shown that it pays to have a varied workforce. For example, international management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.’s January 2018 report “Delivering Through Diversity,” which is based on a study of more than 1,000 companies in 12 countries, concludes that the most diverse companies are likely to have above-average profitability…

Legal funding helps advance protections for the disabled

May 15, 2018 | Source: Albany Times Union

Traveling on public transportation, writing an email or picking up groceries might seem like easy, mundane tasks. But for the one in five Americans with a disability, they present a serious challenge. Fortunately, these tasks are easier today than they were a few decades ago, in large part because the legal system has played a critical role in advancing the cause of disabled Americans. Today, the legal system — and legal funding in particular — continues to help level the playing field for disabled Americans across the country…

The Rising Tide of ADA Litigation Against Health Care Entities

May 15, 2018 | Source: JD Supra- Mintz Levin

Over the past several years, health care entities have increasingly become the target of private and government plaintiffs complaining of disability discrimination. A crescendo of litigation has engulfed the health care industry—and most notably of late, “drive-by” litigation attacking the perceived failure of health care entity facilities and websites to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities consistent with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)…

Americans with Disability Act Regulations That May Surprise You

May 16, 2018 | Source: Business News Daily

Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the third Thursday of May, is dedicated to celebrating and raising awareness of the products, services and environments that are accessible to people with disabilities. More than 50 million Americans live with disabilities, but people with disabilities have more freedom and opportunity to live independently now than ever before, and there are laws in place to help protect that freedom. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits businesses from discriminating against people with disabilities…

DOJ reaches Agreement with the City and County of Denver to Resolve Disability Discrimination

May 16, 2018 | Source: Department of Justice

The Department of Justice today announced that it reached an agreement with the City and County of Denver (Denver) to resolve its lawsuit alleging that the Denver Sheriff Department discriminated against an employee on the basis of his disability, insulin dependent diabetes, in violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that Denver discriminated against a long time Deputy Sheriff by failing to engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine an appropriate accommodation…

Glossier Hit with a Lawsuit Alleging It Violates the Americans with Disabilities Act

May 16, 2018 | Source: Racked & Fashionista & Gizmodo

The beauty brand Glossier was just slapped with a potential class-action lawsuit alleging that its website is not accessible for blind customers to use. The company is not alone, though. The same plaintiff, Kathleen Sypert, filed identical complaints against multiple other businesses the same day, including the fashion chain AllSaints, Beecher’s Cheese, and several medical imaging centers, all in New York state. In the suit filed last week, Sypert, who is blind, says that she was denied “goods and services” because she encountered “multiple access barriers” while navigating Glossier’s site…

First blind engineer for Facebook helping them make social network more accessible

May 16, 2018 | Source: WIBW News Now & Cheddar

Facebook’s first blind engineer is excited about what he can ‘see’ on the horizon for technology. “Technology is a huge part of my life,” said Matt King. “Over the last decade, there really has been major change in terms of what’s available to help people with disabilities feel more independent and productive in society. That ranges from everything from the kinds of stuff that we’re doing at Facebook, like making visual information accessible using artificial intelligence to the kinds of things that are promising on the horizon like autonomous vehicles.”…

Theater For The New City Makes Art Accessible, Unveils Handicapped Accessible Elevator

May 16, 2018 | Source: Broadway World

While Theater for the New City regularly celebrates show openings, it’s gearing up for a special grand opening of its own: a handicapped accessible elevator. The theater at 155 First Ave., between 9th and 10th Streets, on Sunday, May 27 at 2 p.m. is unveiling a new, state of the art, wheelchair accessible elevator as part of the Lower East Side Festival of the Arts. TNC already offers plays and other performances at affordable ticket prices, typically $18 or less. The new elevator will provide a different type of access to the arts…

Dollar General stores sued over ADA inaccessibility

May 16, 2018 | Source: WBFO & Daily Star

Disability Rights New York has filed a class action lawsuit against the Dollar General Corporation for failing to make their New York stores accessible to people with mobility disabilities. The lawsuit was prompted by Jennifer Rossman, a wheelchair user in Oneonta, NY. Rossman claims she is unable to shop at Dollar General because of large stocking carts, cardboard displays and merchandise stacked in aisles and outside the store’s entrance. DRNY says it found similar accessibility problems in 75 other New York Dollar General stores and claims the stores violate the Americans With Disabilities Act and New York State law…

U.S. Department of Education Launches New Website Accessibility Technical Assistance Initiative

May 17, 2018 | Source: US Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced it is launching a new technical assistance initiative to assist schools, districts, state education agencies, libraries, colleges and universities in making their websites and online programs accessible to individuals with disabilities. Through webinars, OCR will provide information technology professionals with vital information on website accessibility, including tips for making their online programs accessible…

Getty is trying to bring disability inclusion to stock photos

May 17, 2018 | Source: Fast Company

In the stock photo world, images of people with disabilities tend to cluster at two poles. “They’re either depicted as superhuman or super pathetic,” says Rebecca Swift, Getty Images’ director of visual insights. “There doesn’t seem to be that broad range that you get with able-bodied people.” Getty has seen searched for disability-related images spike in the past year–“wheelchair access” searches were up 371% from 2016 to 2017, and autism-related searches climbed 434%–and the issue of representation became impossible to ignore…

How Facebook Is Marking Global Accessibility Awareness Day

May 17, 2018 | Source: Adweek & EdScoop

A recent survey of Facebook users in 50 countries found that more than 30 percent of them experienced difficulty seeing, hearing, speaking, organizing thoughts, walking or grasping with their hands. On that note, the social network is marking Global Accessibility Awareness Day Thursday by teaming up with Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Oath to create an accessibility program as part of the Teach Access initiative. The program, Teach Access Study Away: Silicon Valley, will take place May 28 through June 1…

Bloomington company works to make the web accessible for all

May 17, 2018 | Source: KMSP-TV

While most businesses understand the importance of having brick and mortar locations accessible, the same can’t be said for their websites. As a result, some websites are putting up barriers to information for the nearly 60 million Americans who live with a disability. Siteimprove, a company with its U.S. headquarters in Bloomington hopes to open the eyes of coders and website designers of the future. Keith Bundy was born blind, and now works with Siteimprove as a digital accessibility consult and trainer…

How programmers are helping improve internet access for those with disabilities

May 17, 2018 | Source: KSL.com

About 1 in 5 people living in the U.S. have a disability, according to latest U.S. Census data. Adding in temporary or situational disabilities each day, Jen Luker, lead software engineer at programming company Formidable, said web companies aren’t making it easy for a good chunk of people who use their sites. “By not having an accessible website, you’re cutting out 20 percent of the possible users on your website,” she said. “Even if you don’t take that into account, it’s the right thing to do for (people like) the elderly generation or a returning vet who may have lost a limb.”…

Jack Fact — The OTC Hearing Aid Act of 2017 was recently passed into law to improve the affordability and accessibility of hearing aids. About 86% of Americans with hearing loss, over 30 million people, currently go untreated, making hearing impairment one of the most common forms of disability in the United States.

International News

Human rights watchdog condemns Scotland’s lack of accessible housing

May 11, 2018 | Source: iNews- Scotland & PoliticsHome.com- UK & Ekklesia- UK

Thousands of disabled people in Scotland are being robbed of their dignity and independence due to the nation’s chronic shortage of accessible housing, the UK’s human rights watchdog has warned. Failings by the Scottish Government and local councils have created a “hidden crisis” which is set to worsen, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says in a report published on Friday. Many disabled people are unable to leave their homes or are forced to live in a single room due to lack of suitable housing and long waiting lists for adaptations…

94% polling stations in capital lack accessibility to PWDs

May 12, 2018 | Source: The News International- Pakistan & Pakistan Observer

A shocking 94% of the polling stations in Islamabad are inaccessible to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in one way or another. Maximum polling stations do not meet one or more mandatory criteria; however, 71% of such buildings can easily be made accessible with little alterations. The above facts have become apparent in the wake of an accessibility audit of polling stations in Islamabad right before the 2018 general elections. Conducted by the Pakistan Alliance for Inclusive Elections (PAIE), the audit puts into questions, the policies of the state and the Election Commission of Pakistan vis-a-vis inclusiveness…

Montreal’s lack of wheelchair-accessible concert venues denounced by visiting performer

May 11, 2018 | Source: CBC- Canada

When Gaelynn Lea decided to make Montreal a stop on her tour, she never imagined how difficult it would be to find a venue that was wheelchair accessible, both for her and her audience. “I made a commitment to myself that I was going to stop playing at venues that people with wheelchairs wouldn’t be able to get into on their own,” Lea, a Minnesota singer and violinist who uses an electric wheelchair, told CBC’s Daybreak. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to find a place that I feel good about playing in.'”…

CCB urges Buhari to sign Disability Bill into law

May 12, 2018 | Source: Vanguard- Nigeria

Centre for Citizens with Disability (CDD) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to give presidential assent to the Disability Bill to help ameliorate the sufferings of People Living With Disabilities. The Executive Director of CDD, Mr. David Anyaele made the appeal via a press briefing in Abuja on Friday. Anyaele stated that the signing of the Bill into law would guarantee the rights and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities in the country…

‘Tech helps students with learning disabilities’

May 13, 2018 | Source: Khaleej Times- Dubai

Technology should play a larger role in the education of people with determination, as it helps them become independent, a top educator said. Fatma Al Qasimi, director of the department of student accessibility services at Zayed University, was speaking on Sunday at a session dedicated to the Global Accessibility Awareness Day, at the Apple Store in Dubai Mall. She shed light on how implementing technology has improved learning methods inside her classroom. Zayed University has an accessibility dedicated centre with 170 students, the country’s first Apple Distinguished Programme for Education…

PWD voter calls for more accessibility in voting precincts

May 14, 2018 | Source: Davao Today- Philippines

‘Careful Comelec’ eyes new online precinct finder for 2019 polls

May 15, 2018 | Source: ABS-CBN News- Philippines

A 51-year-old resident here with a disability called for more accessibility for persons with disabilities as he cast his vote for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Monday. Bong Komiling, a resident of Barangay 40-D, was accompanied by his wife, Mercelita, as he went to vote at the Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elem. School in C. Bangoy St. “We hope for more accessibility for persons with disability so that we won’t be deprived of our rights,” said Bong when asked what he is looking forward to for the next set of leaders…

How the DTA is working around Gov.au

May 15, 2018 | Source: iTnews- Australia

When the Digital Transformation Agency pulled the plug on its dramatic plan to rationalise thousands of federal government websites in late 2016, little was understood about just what would replace it. A ‘digital channel strategy’ aimed at improving website usability and minimising those that were unnecessary was all that then DTA boss Nerida O’Loughlin would say early last year, following the government’s decision to dump the planned single website gov.au at the eleventh hour…

Government makes differently-abled friendly access features must in all new projects

May 15, 2018 | Source: Economic Times- India

The finance ministry has made it mandatory for new projects to include accessibility features and incorporate accessibility costing in the total project cost when proposals are sent for expenditure finance committee approvals to make them differently-abled friendly. The department of expenditure has directed all ministries to include “special measures proposed to meet needs of persons with disabilities, including accessibility requirements under the Right of Persons with Disabilities Act” in new construction projects…

The daily commute: a disability perspective

May 15, 2018 | Source: The Spinoff- New Zealand

My daily commute these days is a few steps to my home office in my PJs and barefoot if I want. But I’ve done the bus, train and walking commute. Getting to work is relatively straightforward for non-disabled people, compared to the complexities for many disabled people. Before the subsidised door-to-door accessible transport Total Mobility scheme was developed in the 1980s, many disabled people had difficulty getting to work at all, unless they travelled in their own car, or worked at sheltered workshops, which often provided their own transport…

Delhi PWD to audit govt buildings for accessibility to differently-abled persons

May 15, 2018 | Source: Money Control- India

In a mega exercise, the Delhi PWD will carry out an audit of all the government buildings constructed by it to find out their accessibility to differently-abled persons in the national capital. The public works department has set a deadline of auditing buildings by June 30, once the audit is completed, an excercise would be undertaken to make them differently-abled friendly. The PWD carries out construction of the Delhi government buildings, including offices, hospitals, schools, among others…

A New Initiative Places Curators Who Identify as Disabled at UK Museums

May 15, 2018 | Source: Hyperallergic- UK

The disability-led visual arts organization DASH recently announced a new three-year project that provides funding for three curators who identify as disabled to work with cultural institutions across the United Kingdom. The Arts Council England has allocated £100,000 (~ $135,470) to fund opportunities at Arnolfini (Bristol), Midland Arts Center (MAC, Birmingham), and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA). The goal of DASH’s new initiative is to make the art world generally more inclusive at a time when museums are just starting to think about the accessibility of their spaces….

Assistive devices program needs update, CNIB says

May 15, 2018 | Source: CBC- Canada

Accessibility advocates across Ontario are calling on political candidates to have a closer look at a funding program for those with vision loss. The Assistive Devices Program provides 75 per cent reimbursement for equipment. It’s a program Sault Ste. Marie’s Dorothy Macnaughton knows well, as she has low vision. Macnaughton, who also volunteers with the CNIB, says the program covers computers and software for those machines. But she says tablets aren’t covered. “[The province] wants people with disabilities to have a level playing field,” she said…

City Hall and Activists to Survey BTS Accessibility

May 16, 2018 | Source: Khaosod English- Thailand

City officials must join the disabled activists suing them on a court-ordered inspection of BTS stations as part of a class-action lawsuit, one of the plaintiffs said Wednesday. A year after a network of commuters with disabilities and advocacy groups filed suit against the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, or BMA, for failing to complete installation of elevators at all BTS Skytrain stations, Manit Inpim of Transportation for All said the case is moving forward after many delays…

New TTC and GO stations difficult, dangerous for people with disabilities, advocacy group says in new video

May 15, 2018 | Source: Toronto Star- Canada

Toronto’s subway and train stations, including the TTC’s newest, have design flaws that can make travelling difficult or dangerous for people with disabilities, according to a new video that illustrates the problems. In a 30-minute video released Tuesday, David Lepofsky, the chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, demonstrates various problems at Union Station, some of the new TTC stations on Line 1 and some GO stations…

Blind Foundation technology initiatives help people

May 16, 2018 | Source: Scoop- New Zealand

In honour of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 17, the Blind Foundation is celebrating how smart technology can level the playing field for people with disabilities when it is designed with access in mind. Thomas Bryan, who advises on new and emerging technology for the Blind Foundation, also happens to be blind. He uses assistive technology such as a screen reader, voiceover app and a Braille display, to use devices like his iPhone and computer…

Man Utd, Crystal Palace, Hull City and Sunderland criticised over disabled access

May 16, 2018 | Source: SkySports- UK

Premier League clubs’ accessibility upgrades revealed as EHRC calls full time

May 17, 2018 | Source: Access and Mobility Professional

Manchester United are among four clubs criticised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) over disabled access at their stadium. United, Crystal Palace, Hull City and Sunderland currently fail to meet legal requirements for access and, while they are all making progress, have declined the EHRC’s offer to make informal agreements to guarantee eventual compliance. This is described as “disappointing” and it is contrasted with Chelsea’s willingness to make a binding agreement to comply by the start of next season, and informal agreements Burnley and Watford have made to do likewise…

Rail staff told: Don’t help the disabled if it makes us late

May 17, 2018 | Source: Metro Newspaper- UK

RAIL bosses have been accused of insulting disabled passengers in a drive to cut delays as they introduce new timetables. Southern Rail parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) has told staff not to help people of reduced mobility on to trains if there is a chance it might delay the service, says the Rail, Maritime and Transport union. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘They are introducing a policy which effectively means disabled people will not be assisted on to the train and allowed to travel.’…

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