Great Western Coffee Shop

A comedian has hit out at a train operator after she was "harassed and humiliated" for using a disabled space for her mobility scooter.

Tanyalee Davis, who lives in Norwich, found herself embroiled in a row on the Great Western Railway (GWR) service between Plymouth and London on Sunday. She said a train guard threatened to call the police if she did not leave the space.

GWR said staff who saw the video were "collectively horrified".

Canadian-born Ms Davis, 47, who has a form of dwarfism, was travelling on the 11:00 service with her partner, Kevin Bolden, who filmed the incident on a mobile phone. She was told to move from the unreserved space after a young mother asked to use it for a pram.

She said she felt "personally and publicly humiliated" after the guard threatened to call the police. "He made an announcement... saying that it was 'the woman with the mobility scooter' that was causing problems and that the train would be delayed indefinitely. It was humiliating and I cried for most of the journey home," she said.

Ms Davis had been travelling back to Norfolk after headlining the Plymouth Comedy Club on Saturday.

In a tearful video after the journey, she said: "I don't know what it is about this country, they really make you feel disabled. Just because I use a mobility scooter it doesn't make me a pariah, it doesn't make me less disabled".

"I'm just trying to make a living, to make people laugh," she added.

Dan Panes, from GWR, said a team from the train company had watched Ms Davis' video and were "collectively horrified. We got it wrong, it made no sense. A wheelchair space is a wheelchair space, it's not for luggage or pushchairs," he admitted. "The priority is really clear. Tanyalee should not have been asked to move."

He confirmed that an investigation is under way - but did not say if any action would be taken against the train guard involved.

Can one have less than zero sympathy?

Just go and read that again, will you? You might actually get a life.

Less than zero = negative sympathy (for the TM, you wazzock)

GWR
...

Policy:
A scooter permit scheme is in operation for all scooters that cannot be folded down and taken onto the train as luggage. Please contact Great Western to obtain a permit.
Max Length: 1200mm (3ft 11in approx)
Max Width: 700mm (2ft 3in approx). 610mm (2ft 1in approx) on Coach L First Class HST
Maximum combined weight of user and scooter: 300kg (660lbs approx)

Because scooters come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, many have problems on trains, including: tipping backwards on ramps; being heavier than the ramp's safe working load; or being the wrong shape to manoeuvre safely inside a carriage.
These problems mean that some companies have trains that cannot carry scooters so if you are a scooter-user who wants to travel by rail, you should contact the Train Company to check they can safely accommodate your scooter.

My problem was Chris, your attitude towards customers is generally so contemptuous that  thinking you were true to form in this case was an all too easy conclusion to jump to, but I'm happy to be corrected......and in such a charming way! 😂

Here's how I imagine this might play out... The TM will be suspended pending an investigation. The RMT will release an inflammatory statement claiming 'Brother so-and-so' is being bullied and victimised. "It's not his fault, it's management's fault for not being there with him to hold his hand and tell him what to do, say and think. He doesn't get paid enough to do, say and think for himself while the Fat Cat management are lining their pockets etc etc. Renationalise Now!" The TM will then be dismissed for gross misconduct and the RMT will go into overdrive with their rhetoric, declaring a culture of bullying and victimisation. They will call for a strike of which 90% of those eligible to vote will abstain from doing so. Of the remaining 10%, 60% will vote in favour of strike action and the RMT will declare a victory with 'overwhelming' support. 4 TMs will then stand on a picket line outside of Penzance station and the RMT will bring along the national press so the world can see their solidarity for 'Brother so-and-so'. By which time everyone will have forgotten all about the original story...

Here's how I imagine this might play out... The TM will be suspended pending an investigation. The RMT will release an inflammatory statement claiming 'Brother so-and-so' is being bullied and victimised. "It's not his fault, it's management's fault for not being there with him to hold his hand and tell him what to do, say and think. He doesn't get paid enough to do, say and think for himself while the Fat Cat management are lining their pockets etc etc. Renationalise Now!" The TM will then be dismissed for gross misconduct and the RMT will go into overdrive with their rhetoric, declaring a culture of bullying and victimisation. They will call for a strike of which 90% of those eligible to vote will abstain from doing so. Of the remaining 10%, 60% will vote in favour of strike action and the RMT will declare a victory with 'overwhelming' support. 4 TMs will then stand on a picket line outside of Penzance station and the RMT will bring along the national press so the world can see their solidarity for 'Brother so-and-so'. By which time everyone will have forgotten all about the original story...

Disabled comedian Tanyalee Davis has criticised train company Great Western
Railway after she was “harassed and shamed” in a row over her mobility
scooter on a journey from Plymouth to London.
 
Tanyalee, who is just 3ft 6ins tall and uses the scooter to get around, found
herself in a beef with a young mother and train staff when she put her
scooter into a space reserved for wheelchair users.
 
The comedian, and her partner Kevin Bolden, were asked to move from their
seats when the woman got onto the train and wanted to put a pram into the
wheelchair space.
 
The train was halted at Taunton and Tanyalee said an announcement was made
saying the police had been called and that she was holding up the train’s
progress “indefinitely”.
 
She said she was made to feel “shamed” and “embarrassed” and blamed
for a 20-minute delay which caused passengers, including herself, to miss
their connections.
 
“It was such a horrific experience,” she said.
 
The Canadian has posted a video on social media where, tears streaming down
her face, she criticises GWR and the country for the way disabled people are
treated.
 
“I cried for most of the journey and I’m sick of this,” she said. “I
have this all the time.
 
“Just because I have a mobility scooter doesn’t make me a pariah.”
 
She added: “I don’t know what it is about this country – they really
make you feel disabled.”
 
GWR has said it wants to talk to Tanyalee about the incident but stressed it
should not have arisen and that “no one travelling with us should be left
feeling like this.”
 
Tanyaleehad headlined Plymouth Comedy Club
(https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/3ft-6ins-comic-says-gets-1772535), at
Plymouth Athenaeum, to rapturous applause on Saturday evening, July 14.
 
She was travelling back to the capital on Sunday morning, July 15, after
staying over in the city at the Derry’s Cross Travelodge.
 
Tanyalee, who has appeared on top-rated TV shows Live at the Apollo and The
Last Leg, bases much of her act around her short stature and is also a
campaigner for disabled people and against bullying.
 
She said the train did not have a disabled carriage and she had not reserved
a wheelchair space because of difficulties doing this online.
 
She placed her scooter in the empty wheelchair space in the first class
carriage and Kevin sat in an unreserved space opposite.
 
Tanyalee said there was no problem until the train left a station, possibly
Exeter, about an hour into the journey.
 
“A woman got on and there was all this commotion,” she said.
 
Tanyalee said the woman wanted to put her pram into the wheelchair space
occupied by her scooter.
 
She said a member of the train’s staff told her to “fold up the
scooter” but she said that was not practical and, in any case, “why
should I?”
 
Tanyalee said the woman with the baby then asked Kevin to vacate “her”
seat, even though it was not reserved.
 
“She kicked up a fit,” she said. “She had to have that space. It all
got escalated and he (train staff) said ‘fine, I’m calling the police’.
 
“The train stopped at Taunton and he made an announcement over the tannoy
saying it was the woman with the mobility scooter that was causing problems
and we would be delayed indefinitely.”
 
Tanyalee moved her scooter out of the carriage and Kevin left his seat.
 
But she kept having to shift the vehicle throughout the journey so it did not
block doors and she said the train staff “kept bringing it up” by
reminding passengers she was the cause of the delay.
 
“I as so embarrassed,” she said.
 
She said other passengers offered to help her but stressed the issues was
having to move her scooter.
 
“Fine if it was another wheelchair, if it had been booked, I’ve been in
that position – but it was a baby pram,” she said.
 
And the young mum involved in the incident even apologised to Tanyalee and
said: “She said she felt really bad, and I think she genuinely did.”
 
Tanyalee, who has a form of dwarfism called diastrophic dysplasia, is an
outspoken critic of the way disabled people are treated in the UK.
 
She said she is regularly harassed pointed at and even grabbed, particularly
when she is out at night on her scooter following gigs.
 
She is now the director of the anti-bullying charity Gr8 As U R, which has
been working with young people to build their self-confidence.
 
“I’m just trying to make a living, just trying to make people laugh,”
she said.
 
Tanyalee said the Plymouth Comedy Club show had been a huge hit and she had a
lovely time in the city.
 
“Plymouth is lovely,” she said. “I really enjoyed it. Brian Cross and
Kevin Brooker (Comedy Club organisers) were great hosts.
 
“I was by the water after the show and it was great.”
 
A GWR spokesman said: “No one travelling with us should be left feeling
like this.
 
“This should not have happened, and we are attempting to contact Tanyalee
so we can look into this further.”

A comedian has hit out at a train operator after she was "harassed and humiliated" for using a disabled space for her mobility scooter.

Tanyalee Davis said a guard on a Great Western Railway (GWR) service threatened to call the police if she did not leave the space.

Ms Davis said the guard then made an announcement that she was "causing problems" which had delayed the train.

GWR said staff who saw the video were "collectively horrified".

Canadian-born Ms Davis, 47, who has a form of dwarfism, was travelling on the 11:00 service from Plymouth to London on Sunday with her partner, Kevin Bolden, who filmed the incident on a mobile phone.

She was told to move from the unreserved space after a young mother asked to use it for a pram.

Ms Davis, who lives in Norwich, said she felt "personally and publicly humiliated" after the guard threatened to call the police.

"He made an announcement... saying that it was 'the woman with the mobility scooter' that was causing problems and that the train would be delayed indefinitely," she said.

"It was humiliating and I cried for most of the journey home," she said.

Ms Davis had been travelling back to Norfolk after headlining the Plymouth Comedy Club on Saturday.

n a tearful video after the journey, she said: "I don't know what it is about this country, they really make you feel disabled.

"Just because I use a mobility scooter it doesn't make me a pariah, it doesn't make me less disabled".

"I'm just trying to make a living, to make people laugh," she added.

Dan Panes, from GWR, said a team from the train company had watched Ms Davis' video and were "collectively horrified".

"We got it wrong, it made no sense. A wheelchair space is a wheelchair space, it's not for luggage or pushchairs," he admitted.

"The priority is really clear. Tanyalee should not have been asked to move."

He confirmed that an investigation is under way - but did not say if any action would be taken against the train guard involved.

The comedian, and her partner Kevin Bolden, were asked to move from their
seats when the woman got onto the train and wanted to put a pram into the
wheelchair space.

In law a mobility scooter is a Class 2 or 3 Invalid Carriage, depending on its maximum speed. A manual wheelchair is a Class 1 Invalid Carriage.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have indicated that there is no clear basis for differentiating between wheelchair and mobility scooter devices, provided they meet the ‘reference wheelchair’ specification (Length: 1200mm, Width: 700mm, Height: 1350mm, Laden weight: 300kg, and have similar manoeuvrability.

The Equality Act (2010) legislation was found to be unclear on whether mobility scooters have the same rights as wheelchair users in terms of the use of designated wheelchair spaces on-board trains in Great Britain. Clarifications, in response to project queries, have led to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and Department for Transport (DfT) interpreting the legislation to mean that both aids can reasonably be interpreted to be ‘wheelchairs’.

Hmmm - GWR wouldn't allow those seats by the disabled space to be reserved except by someone needing to use such space - they have to be booked as I understand, by contacting GWR's booking line direct & won't be issued by ticket booking engines.

How someone with a pram could book them I'd like to understand, as the way things *should* work, the pram owner would have had to tell an untruth to obtain those seats.

The way I read it was that neither of them had reserved the space
The lady in question was lucky in a sense that someone didn't turn up that HAD reserved it for a wheelchair

As above these kind of stories never seem to be as they initially seem

Lessons to be learnt from ALL involved I would say

Everyone is always quick to assume a baby in a pram is just a baby in a pram. I doubt wether this is the situation here but when is a baby born with a disability entitled to use the disabled spaces on public transport? 

I doubt whether we will ever hear the outcome to this event as GWR will cover the event up with a statement similar to, "the company does not publically reveal details of disciplinary measures taken against its employees", in other words he'll keep his job and be free to humiliate other travellers in the future.

With the exact same rights as any disabled person of any age. If the person or persons with a disabled newborn wish to occupy a space set aside for the disabled then they have the right to do so. Even if said baby is in what is, or appears to be, a normal pram/buggy.

Everyone is always quick to assume a baby in a pram is just a baby in a pram. I doubt wether this is the situation here but when is a baby born with a disability entitled to use the disabled spaces on public transport? 

I’ve seen this on a bus. Pram with a baby on some kind of breathing related equipment in the disabled space and a wheelchair user who was denied boarding. The wheelchair user wouldn’t have it and insisted the mother folded the pram.  When it was clear the conversation was going no where and the mother was getting quite distressed we decided she needed telling rather more bluntly!!

I wondered ... I doubt we will ever know, but feel there just has to be more to this story than has appeared in the 'press'.  One party is professionally articulate, the other unlikely to be so.  It is dangerous for us to come to a conclusion.

I've seen at lot of this baseless supposition in the past couple of days. It really is depressing (it actually angers me) to see and hear so many able bodied people look to excuse the TMs behaviour, or suggest Tanyalee Davis was somehow in the wrong. So what if she is articulate. Does that somehow ameliorate what happened to her? The TM was pretty articulate over the PA.

Did Tanyalee Davis go looking for the confrontation? I've seen no evidence of that. What I have seen, and heard from her, is that the situation was escalated, first by a fellow passenger who held the mistaken belief that a pram could go into a disabled space, and then by a TM who sided with the mum & baby.

Yes, Tanyalee Davis has a 'platform'. Yes she's included her experiences of society's treatment of her as a disabled person in her stand-up. She hasn't before though felt the need to go so public. Why this time? Perhaps because this incident was the straw that broke the camels back? Perhaps because this incident was so demonstrably wrong. Perhaps because, for her, enough is enough and it's no longer a laughing matter to be included in her stand up material.

More power to her elbow I say.

I have no problem coming to a conclusion. The TM was 100% wrong.

At times, we are requested/required to wait for total evidence - for all parties to have been fairly heard - before any final conclusion is reached, and indeed at times to know that final outcome. That's far from satisfying to the people following the story, but I understand the need.

We are utterly right to go the extra mile in society for those less able than ourselves. Indeed it's enshirned in law that we do so to the extent of giving them an experience which is no worse than those that the rest of us experience.

I'm sure that those representing passengers with need for these spaces would have poked their heads above the parapet if this was a general problem of being insufficient.

She hasn't before though felt the need to go so public.

I have no problem coming to a conclusion. The TM was 100% wrong.

Not quite true, a quick look through her twitter feed will show that she has regularly complained about train companies and various aspects of her journey, a recent tweet she was complaining she had to show her disabled railcard . . .

Agree 100% with the second comment, no idea what the guard was playing at with those announcements

Although not particularly relevant in this instance, which is in effect primarily about a pushchair improperly blocking a disabled space, this does flag up to me a concern that maybe there is a wider issue here. Is modern train design in fact allowing enough space for the number of disabled persons wishing to use them?

...and for those of us who don't use T*****r..... ???

Just met with reps @GWRHelp  in regards to the #ScooterGate incident. I am very confident they want to make positive changes. @GR8ASUR #ScooterCampaign

"It was so degrading and I felt worthless."

Comedian Tanyalee Davies says she was reduced to tears after a train guard refused to let her use a disabled space for her mobility scooter so that a mother could use it for her pram.

Thank You.  Every time I try to read something like this it asks me to register.....

This problem is even worse on the IET as there is no provision for wheelchairs in standard (5 and 10 car) not sure on the 9 car. these trains of course were ordered by the goverment( the supposed law makers.

Four disabled spaces in a ten car train is pretty good provision I'd say. Particularly with the free upgrade to 1st Class that is afforded to disabled Standard Class ticket holders.

There will be 4 disabled spaces in the 9 car sets. Two in 1st Class and two in Standard.

Will any people accompanying the disabled passenger also get a first class upgrade or will they be forced to sit apart?

Thank You.  Every time I try to read something like this it asks me to register.....

Thought it easier to put up a screen shot - had to do it this way as the image was too large

https://ibb.co/guB8My

…...just for the record, this has nothing to do with the link that I provided.

Interesting that GWR isn't the only operator that seems to have a problem in this respect though?

Yes indeed. It's an industry wide problem (quote marks and their hidden subtext unnecessary) that needs addressing.

A series of tweets from one disabled user, documenting their negative experiences, are an excellent record to show the wider world.

Progress is being made. The RSSB have issued guidance to TOCs stating that legal opinion is that mobility scooters used by those with protected characteristics, and that meet the 'reference dimensions', are to be treated no differently than wheelchairs.

More needs doing. But it's a start. Tanyalee's publicity of her regular problems accessing trains should be welcomed and not be dismissed as militancy.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have indicated that there is no clear basis for differentiating between wheelchair and mobility scooter devices, provided they meet the ‘reference wheelchair’ specification (Length: 1200mm, Width: 700mm, Height: 1350mm, Laden weight: 300kg, and have similar manoeuvrability.

The Equality Act (2010) legislation was found to be unclear on whether mobility scooters have the same rights as wheelchair users in terms of the use of designated wheelchair spaces on-board trains in Great Britain. Clarifications, in response to project queries, have led to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and Department for Transport (DfT) interpreting the legislation to mean that both aids can reasonably be interpreted to be ‘wheelchairs’.

Instructions/clarification have been issued to all front line colleagues staff...

'It is always difficult when making decisions in the moment when balancing the needs of two passengers.However, in order to help colleagues who may find themselves in this situation, we would like to make our position on this quite clear. When required, passengers with reduced mobility using a mobility scooter or wheelchair have priority to use the designated on-train wheelchair spaces over all other passengers regardless of whether others have reserved the place.

This includes passengers using it to store their luggage, bicycles, pushchairs or any other accompanied articles. When storage space is limited then passengers should be politely requested to fold down the pushchair and vacate the designated space. 

GWR has an obligation to ensure, that when required, the wheelchair space on a train is made available for wheelchair or mobility scooter users. We should politely explain this to our customers and ask them to move their luggage, bicycles, pushchairs or any other accompanied articles.  

Please can I ask for your help to work together to make sure we all comply with this position for the comfort and safety of all our passengers.'

Why am I not surprised? The problem is endemic. Nothing less than putting TOCs in front of judges, and/or a Parliamentary Select Committee, will do.

A few prosecutions and some hefty fines and compensations may just concentrate minds. This treatment of the disabled by public transport operators is a national shame. It is 2018. The disabled have fought long and hard for equality. Yet they are still shat on day in, day out when they dare to interact with society, and just try to do what all the rest of us take for granted.

News of her latest inexcusable treatment:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-44910639

...Not once did Tanyalee Davis explain to everyone that the mother of the baby had a broken arm...

I would seriously question the thought processes of anybody who considered it appropriate to try and use public transport under such circumstances.

Indeed, but there are times that "needs must". We do not know of the personal circumstances, but I can envisage situations where she had no realistic alternative; I doubt it was a journey embarked upon for leisure / pleasure.

Train operators are not required to carry mobility scooters.

Not once did Tanyalee Davis explain to everyone that the mother of the baby had a broken arm, nor did she tell everyone that she suggested the pram should be folded and the newborn laid on a table.

We know the mum had an arm injury because Tanyalee Davis mentioned it. Tanyalee has also said in interviews that the mum was not wearing a cast, and merely had bandaging on her wrist. Videos show that Mum was able to help the TM lift her buggy with one hand, while holding baby in the other. Tanyalee Davies mentioned in interviews that she suggested to mum that baby could be transferred to the car seat that mum was also travelling with and that car seat could be placed on the table. Exactly as another traveller was doing.

Despite all this, there are still some, often railway employees, who continue to look for an angle to cast doubt on Tanyalee Davis story and attempt to excuse the train managers actions. Fortunately they are odds with GWR senior management. I doubt any rail employee defending the Train Manager would dare do so publicly.

As for train operators not being required to carry mobility scooters, the RSSB guidance suggests otherwise. Provided they meet 'reference dimensions' and the user has protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act 2010, then they should be carried.

Regardless of interpretation and grey areas, luggage, prams, baby seats, stuffed donkeys, kitchen sinks... should never be given priority over a disabled person for access to a space set aside for the disabled. And once a disabled person has been settled into the disabled space with assistance from rail staff, and is patently not causing an obstruction or other health and safety concern, then company policy on scooters moot. A reasonable adjustment has been made.

Until the full facts are known then people are entitled to cast doubt on her story.  Especially when she tweets images such as this just leads people to think she’s after the publicity.  https://twitter.com/TanyaleeDavis/status/1021123416936669185
The incident on LNER leads people to think she’s out to create a problem.

Babies shouldn't be left in car seats for more than 30 minutes.

None of the regulations explicitly require rail companies to carry passengers travelling on a ‘mobility scooter’ or other ‘mobility aid’

My Nan has a mobility scooter but she’s not disabled. Does that mean she is entitled to occupy a disabled space on public transport?  What about someone who uses a mobility scooter because they are obese?  If they are occupying a disabled space and someone wants to board who is unable to walk at all, what should happen?

What's wrong with the picture tweeted. One that offers praise to a TOC and its staff. After her horrible experiences in recent days I think it is very magnanimous of her to detail a good experience. And yes, people are entitled to cast doubt. It's helpful when they do if they can provide credible evidence of an alternative narrative. No need to provide it here. Give it to GWRs senior managers. They can then retract their statements, and issue a public apology to the TM instead. If they won't, then give the credible evidence to the press.