Great Western Coffee Shop

If you use either of the two stations.

What improvements would you like to see?

I will start with Parson street,a step free access,and prefer a sloping ramp as opposed to lifts.

I'm a very rare user of both and for me, I might be inclined to use them a little more if they were made a to feel a little less neglected and felt rather busier.... especially at night.

Would there be the space for a slope at Parson St? 5% (1 in 20) is the steepest gradient recommended for wheelchair users.

FoSBR has done some work in this area. We have listed local stations in the West of England and made suggestions on improving access. You can see details of this here: https://fosbr.org.uk/campaigns/better-stations/

Following an event earlier this year where FoSBR drew attention to poorly signed bus/rail interchanges, we have met with WECA and may be making progress with improvements to signage at bus stops https://fosbr.org.uk/interchange-between-buses-and-trains/

As they currently stand, Parson St and Bedminster are both difficult places to install access ramps because of the width and length of the platforms. However if Network Rail's aspiration to reinstate four tracks from Temple Meads to Parson St were to go ahead (see here: https://fosbr.org.uk/weca-strategic-rail-investment-plan/) then both stations could potentially be remodelled. That could lead to access improvements, which might mean ramps or lifts. Given the current economic and political climate, there probably isn't much prospect of this happening soon.

I thought Bedminster's platform was pretty long and quite wide. I've alighted there a few times, and it has always seemed to me one where disabled access ought to be relatively easy to accommodate.

It probably would be possible to extend the ramp at Bedminster to get a bit closer to 1 in 20, (not sure about 'easy'!) but there are other issues here as discussed in this post: https://fosbr.org.uk/bedminster-station-access/