One of my work colleagues is eligible to purchase a disabled person's railcard as he wears a hearing aid. Now he's not VERY disabled, he's very competent, travels to meetings alone and often chairs them. But if he buys such a railcard it would allow a work colleague to get a discount as well if they travelled with him as a "companion". Obviously they would have to board and alight at the same stations. What do you think about this as an idea?
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Disabled railcard possibility
- Thread starter neilmc
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It's perfectly acceptable to do this, and within the terms and conditions of the railcard. That he chairs meetings or can travel alone makes no difference.
he's not "VERY disabled" may be better described as "can manage his condition well". From my experience you might end up in a "lively" debate using that sort of terminology. You are either disabled and meet the conditions for a railcard or you don't.
To put it another way then, I like most of my peers wear glasses; my eyesight is not great but I am not classed as "visually impaired" such that I could get a certificate allowing me to apply for a Disabled Persons Railcard. however should I suffer hearing loss of ANY magnitude requiring me to wear a hearing aid then I would be eligible, and I suspect a lot of hearing aid wearers wouldn't be aware of this, they might expect you would need to be profoundly deaf to require a companion to accompany oneself. Not a gripe, I had never realised this either until my friend mentioned it.
The fact that you can have a companion travelling at the discounted rate and that it doesn't need to be a named person, also that there is no time restriction makes this a good deal.
The fact that you can have a companion travelling at the discounted rate and that it doesn't need to be a named person, also that there is no time restriction makes this a good deal.
The world of disability is interesting and is not without its quirks and seeming anomalies. To be visually impaired means that a person’s eyesight cannot be corrected to a “normal” level, hence the need for spectacles would not of itself amount to being classified as partially sighted. There are some fabulous hearing aids and it is possible that some would correct to a "normal" level but that is not a consideration in this category. I am grateful that I do not qualify for a disabled persons railcard and have no issue with anyone who has or companions who travel with them. And yes there will be people who are not aware of the entitlement to a Disabled Persons Railcard a hearing aid would allow.
The work colleague should definitely go ahead and get the disabled railcard if the qualifies for it.
Read other posts on the forum - specifically the Disputes and Prosecution. You will see the ToCs will penalise passengers for even the slightest mistake if it goes against their rules (most common example being issued a PF for mistakenly buying a same/higher price ticket to a station on the same route than one is going to).
The ToC set the qualifying rules and there should be no guilt in going by the rules.
Read other posts on the forum - specifically the Disputes and Prosecution. You will see the ToCs will penalise passengers for even the slightest mistake if it goes against their rules (most common example being issued a PF for mistakenly buying a same/higher price ticket to a station on the same route than one is going to).
The ToC set the qualifying rules and there should be no guilt in going by the rules.
Eyesight can be corrected either with glasses or with things like laser eye surgery. It's changing the focus so light hits the back of your eye without being distorted.
Hearing cannot be corrected or repaired; hearing loss is degenerative and will only get worse. Hearing aids amplify frequencies that the inner ear can't perceive at lower amplitudes, so that the wearer can hear the sound. It's not the same as correcting vision as it's replacing an absence of perception rather than adjusting a distortion.
As has been mentioned above, there are also complicating factors like tinnitus (the brain "making up" sounds where it thinks they are missing, because of the hearing loss) which affect what people can hear.
Gradual reduction in hearing perception over time is natural, as is decline in visual accuity. But not hearing loss.
That's why, I'd suggest, hearing loss beyond a certain point is considered an impairment, just like some vision impairments that cannot be corrected.
Hearing cannot be corrected or repaired; hearing loss is degenerative and will only get worse. Hearing aids amplify frequencies that the inner ear can't perceive at lower amplitudes, so that the wearer can hear the sound. It's not the same as correcting vision as it's replacing an absence of perception rather than adjusting a distortion.
As has been mentioned above, there are also complicating factors like tinnitus (the brain "making up" sounds where it thinks they are missing, because of the hearing loss) which affect what people can hear.
Gradual reduction in hearing perception over time is natural, as is decline in visual accuity. But not hearing loss.
That's why, I'd suggest, hearing loss beyond a certain point is considered an impairment, just like some vision impairments that cannot be corrected.
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Joe Paxton
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I remember being a bit surprised when I first discovered that simply having a hearing aid meant someone was eligible for a Disabled Person's Railcard (DRC).
I then pointed this out to a family friend who's otherwise eligible for a Senior Railcard, and explained that a DRC was more generous in its benefits. Their initial take was that it seemed a bit dodgy and they felt like they'd be 'working the system', however they've since held and used one for several years - I think they just realised that they really were legitimately eligible, having read through the criteria themselves.
I then pointed this out to a family friend who's otherwise eligible for a Senior Railcard, and explained that a DRC was more generous in its benefits. Their initial take was that it seemed a bit dodgy and they felt like they'd be 'working the system', however they've since held and used one for several years - I think they just realised that they really were legitimately eligible, having read through the criteria themselves.
TheTallOne
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I can't imagine it is easy using the train when it all goes wrong. And it seems to go wrong quite often on some lines.
Can they hear the manual announcements? Is the same manual announcement shown on screen (guessing not in most cases).
Can they hear the manual announcements? Is the same manual announcement shown on screen (guessing not in most cases).
I used to get annoyed at the constant announcements on buses for the next stop and the excessive announcements on trains. That was until I got chatting to a young blind lady at the bus stop and she was saying how good B&H buses are in this regard but that she did say she didn't like the 700 as they didn't have such announcements. I did point out that this was operated by stagecoach although she probably had no way of knowing this. The takeaway was not to be so selfish and consider others less able than myself.
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