Besides black cabs, the red buses are our primary source of transportation around London. Although we live in an area where lots of the tube stations on the Jubilee Line are "wheelchair accessible," we have found that they are not actually accessible for us. That's because Chazz's power chair, like many models, have small wheels in the front. Therefore, although the platform and trains are often level in tube stations that are marked as accessible (though not always, I found about a foot incline at Stanmore, which is supposed to be accessible), the gap between the platform and tube make it impossible to get on and off the train because the small wheels will fall in.
Apparently at some stations you can arrange to have someone bring down a ramp to get on, and then call ahead for assistance at the station where you want to get off, estimating when your train will be due (and having this confirmed by he conductor once you board). But who the heck has the time or patience for that type of planning? After we factored in the risk (ramp not being available to get off and being stuck on train), we decided to give up on this and just use the buses.
On the plus side of London -- all red buses are accessible (except the heritage routes 9 and 15), and you can get virtually anywhere you want in London via a series of buses. And, provided you qualify, you can do this for free if you're disabled with a "Freedom Pass" http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedompass/. More information is about wheelchair travel on buses is available here: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/transportaccessibility/1171.aspx. This web site says that any wheelchair user can board for free (doesn't mention Freedom Pass). I don't know if this is the case -- we always paid the full fare for both of us until we received the Freedom Pass. Therefore, I don't know if we were being charged for Chazz when we shouldn't have been, or if the information on the TFL website isn't up-to-date. Perhaps someone who is more knowledgeable on the subject can comment here? I think this would be useful information for disabled visitors to London to know...
The red buses lower to the ground, and ramps extend from the back of the bus flush with the pavement. There are few stressful moments re getting on and off red buses that you should be aware of:
1. Rude bus drivers. For the most part, our experiences with bus drivers have been very good, but there have been a couple of bad apples. You can usually sense when this will happen -- you can see the dismay and aggravation in the driver's eyes as he pulls up and sees you sitting in the chair. Even though it's a small delay to let you on, and requires minimum effort, it's still extra work and hassle for him. If you see that the driver is clearly out of sorts by your very existence, then you can either suck it up, or you can wait for the next bus. I know the latter isn't very courageous, but having dealt with a particularly mean bus drivers before (yelling at us in front of other customers when ramp wasn't deploying properly) it depends how much fight you left in you at the end of the day.
2. Ramps don't work. As mentioned above, this is the chief obstacle of a smooth bus journey. We've found that this often results from the bus not being positioned properly by the curb. Based on experiences with vans, we believe this may be due to the sensors -- if you get to close to the curb, there can be too much pressure on the ramp when it reaches the pavement which can short out the electrics. Also, if you're too far away there's not enough contact with the pavement to allow for deployment. In either case, usually this can be fixed by asking the driver to pull up a couple of feet. It usually solves the problem, but in one instance where we asked the bus driver to do this he became irate and completely lost his temper (see 1 above). It worked though.
3. The bus may be crowded/customers will not move. Chairs take up a lot of space, no doubt about it. In rush hour, buses will just pass you by because there's no way you're getting on. Getting on would require about 5 able-bodied people to either squeeze in further (not possible in existing sardine-like conditions), or get off. It's just not going to happen. We travel off-peak whenever possible.
Even during off-peak hours, some people are funny about space. Generally there are two types of people -- those who, when they see someone who might need an extra hand, can't do enough to help. Type two either don't notice, don't care, or a bit of both. We can't really come down too hard on the latter type. Your bit of standing space is something to be coveted and preserved at all costs. To be asked to move away from your hard-fought safe zone is an imposition - we get it. That's why it's nice to travel in pairs, because the able-bodied person can clear the way and tell everyone that someone in a wheelchair is getting on (even though this is perfectly obvious). This is where being American really comes in handy. You are already presumed to be loud, pushy and generally without any sense of decorum. Use this to your benefit to clear the way. Getting on with just English people is more tricky because it's a series of apologies (sorry, I can't walk, is there perhaps a chance you can use your two legs to shuffle along so I can ride too, if it's not too much trouble?).
4. Prams/Buggies. This is a subset of category 3 above, but deserves it's own mention. There is a sign in the wheelchair area of buses saying that prams can be parked there unless a wheelchair user needs the space. These instructions are rarely observed and, in our experience, the bus drivers will not ask someone with a pram to move. Unless you've been lucky enough to find a nice parent who is willing to share the space with you or move, you're pretty much stuck and have to get off and wait for the next bus. This is an occasion where I think it's perfectly acceptable to scowl and make a comment about "some people," whether under your breath or otherwise. This might be enough to get you on, but in all likelihood you're probably going to have to get the next bus. Just hope it doesn't rain.
We hope the above doesn't sound negative. We're actually incredibly impressed with how accessible the London bus system is, how far you can travel, and the fact that London is progressive enough to allow disabled passengers to ride for free. In Chicago, by comparison, our experience was that disabled people have to undergo a rather humiliating assessment where you have to prove you are disabled by walking/rolling around a block with a transport employee. If that person doesn't think you are disabled enough, you don't get a free ride (Chazz didn't qualify, even being quadriplegic). London rocks in this sense, and we fully intend to continue using its great bus service.
Details:
Most buses run 5 am - midnight, and then night service buses are available for many routes.
Central London map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/centlond.pdf
Tourist map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/central_bus_map.pdf
Journey Planner: http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en
