The crutch makes everyone aware: Using walking aids on the London Underground

I’m Caroline and this is my experience of getting around London with MS.

I have found travelling around London on public transport much easier since I started using a crutch. Prior to this I always felt a bit unsafe on my own, as I walk very slowly and wobble a lot. I felt people would push and not give me the space I needed, often making me walk more quickly than I feel comfortable with. The crutch makes everyone aware and I have found people give me room, don’t crowd or rush me and I feel much safer.

Escalators are a bit of a challenge - needing to stand on the right [in London] and hold on is difficult as I use my crutch in my right hand. Holding on is essential due to dizziness and I struggle to use my crutch in my left hand, so more practice is needed. When getting on and off tubes and buses people also seem to give me space and time to be safe.

I find on the London underground people will usually give up the accessible seats but not always. Other travellers on the tube do ask people to give up those seats (sometimes a bit aggressively), but it does make the point. Most amusingly, I got on a tube train and the carriage was fairly empty but someone was in the accessible seat, so I sat elsewhere, and a lady had a real moan at the person in the accessible seat for not moving. They moved and apologised to me and then I felt obliged to move to the accessible seat. However, people on buses are less helpful and tend not to give up their seats.
 

Transport for London do provide good information on accessibility and allow you to plan journeys, taking into account mobility needs – like the amount of walking and speed - between different types of transport. What they don’t tell you is the distance you need to walk when changing lines within a station, which can be quite substantial as I learnt to my cost.

One day arriving at Bank station on the DLR I had to walk for about 20 minutes along endless corridors and up three big escalators to reach the line I needed. I needed a rest along the way but there were, and are, no seats along the way. It felt like the world and his wife rushed past me, although they all gave me space and a few asked if I was OK, I was just shattered. It’s a lesson learnt, now I always avoid Bank Station and go on a more roundabout route, which involves less walking, so it ends up being quicker for me.

I would say my top three tips for traveling with MS are: 

1. Plan your journey, avoiding peak times 
2. Go for the least changes in tube lines or buses, even if it means a longer journey time, walking between lines can be very long and exhausting
3. Use taxis if you need to, what might be a 5-minute stroll for others to the tube or where you're going, takes me much longer and exhausts me, and risks potentially spoiling my day

• Don’t let mobility difficulties get you down, we are here to help with some ways to work past them
• Listen to our podcast on getting to grips with using mobility aids
• Need some information on mobility equipment?
• Read our Life changing: getting around with MS transport report