After train attendants began to be phased out from the commuter trains in Stockholm, criticism is now growing. 24-year-old Isak, who uses a Permobil, has almost completely stopped using the commuter train, because he does not get the help he needs. – This restricts my son’s life, says Therese Lagerman, Isak’s mother. The decision to remove the train attendants in the Stockholm commuter train has been the subject of debate for weeks. Now the criticism is growing, which is, among other things, that disabled people cannot travel in the same way as other travelers. 24-year-old Isak, who has a disability and uses a Permobile, used to take the commuter train several times a week. But now he has almost completely stopped it. Since the train attendants began to be phased out, he has been left on the platform several times. His mother Therese talks about the latest occasion. – The driver noted that we were there, but no one came out and helped with ramp service. So the train left, without Isak. The plan is for the train hosts to be phased out completely in September. At manned stations, personnel from the barrier kiosk must help, at unmanned stations there must be other service personnel. But according to Therese, that type of staff is not always available. – This restricts my son’s life, in order to save money on security. Large demonstration against the decision On Wednesday, trade unions, opposition politicians and a number of organizations for the rights of disabled people gathered for a demonstration outside the Transport Administration. In protest against the abolition of train attendants, 23,000 signatures were handed over to the Transport Board, the authority that made the decision to abolish train attendants. According to Anton Fendert (MP), chairman of the Traffic Committee in Stockholm, there are no plans to withdraw the decision to phase out train attendants. He refers to the fact that in the investigation into disbanding train attendants it was concluded that accessibility can be guaranteed. – Then there are obvious examples, like this one, where the spontaneous ramp service does not work as it should. In the clip above: Isak’s mother tells how the abolition of train attendants worsened her son’s life
t4-general
Isak is left on the platform when help from train attendants is not forthcoming
