'Navigating Birmingham in a wheelchair is incredibly trying'
"The overall message is, listen to disabled people."
The free replacement taxis mean Ms Allen can still travel, but it extends her journey by at least 30 minutes, if not longer at rush hour. However, on one occasion a taxi did not arrive, with Ms Allen saying passenger assistance at Chiltern told her "there was nothing more they could do"A spokesperson for the rail operator has since told the BBC "there were some difficulties sourcing a taxi".They added that the company was "continuing to work with Network Rail to resolve a fault with the lift at the station" but despite temporary fixes, "the lift continues to have persistent issues".Once in Birmingham, there are more problems to navigate, Ms Allen uses dropped kerbs to cross the road safely, however these are often blocked. Ms Allen said she experienced "people parking across them, leaving bikes, bin bags, scaffolding. Lots of obstacles"."It just feels very dangerous," she added. "I don't think anyone takes any notice of the signage, I just don't think people see it as a punishable thing, so they won't stop doing it if there is no consequence"
Ms Allen also travels to London for work and leisure, and said she faced similar difficulties there. Even getting to the capital can be problematic, as rail operators occasionally forget to send assistance when the train arrives. "Now they have got an app, it has made a really big difference. But in terms of actually actioning the assistance, I've had so many fails. "I've been left on so many trains where people just haven't brought the ramp to get me off. I can't even describe the level of anxiety it creates." "I'm not an angry person but by the end of the week I think, I'm just trying to live a normal life, and these things are so easily avoidable 99% of the time." Ms Allen added.
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