Transport Challenges

Italia

Hey everyone!

I'm Talie, for those of you I haven't met, my role here at The Mix is to work alongside the wonderful community team and to make sure your voices are at the centre of everything we do. It's a great job and I'd love to hear from you if you want to get more involved

I wanted to get your thoughts on something we’re working on. If you're neurodivergent, have you ever felt like public transport can be a bit of a struggle? Whether it's the bus, train, or something else, we’re interested to hear about any barriers you’ve experienced.

We’re thinking of researching how a text-based support service could help people who find public transport challenging because of neurodivergence or mental health reasons. But before diving in, we want to understand more about your experiences directly from you.

If you’re comfortable, please share below – it might help someone else feel less alone, too! And if mental health is more your focus, there’ll is a similar post over in the health and wellbeing section for that topic specifically.

If you have any questions - let me know.

Thanks so much! 😊

Lucy_21

Hi @Italia yes I do struggle with transportation because of my processing problems and anxiety. I used to get taxis to college and it was quite draining. First I had to rush to be ready in time that I find hard anyway with my prossesing problems as I couldn’t have as long as I usually did with my routine which triggered my anxiety. Then I had to get in a car with a random person I didn’t know which caused suppressed anxiety attacks. Then they sometimes liked talking which I really didn’t. Some of them where not carful with my frame or chair at all that gave me anxiety Incase they damaged it.

All in all I always felt scared and vulnerable on the way to college every morning to the point I had to sit with my friend through an attack before lesson

Italia

Hey Lucy,

Thank you so much for sharing with us. It sounds like you used to have to manage a lot just to get to college, it sounds really stressful. I'm glad you had a friend to sit with though.

Did you ever reach out for support while you were catching taxis and feeling anxious? Is there anything that helps when you're having a panic attack. What support could have been helpful during that time do you think?

I really appreciate you sharing this with us, it's really insightful for us to know all the things you have to think about when catching public transport.

Lucy_21

No because only my friends believe me about my anxiety, my family don’t think it’s real.

I had to hold my bible on the way and have my music on in one ear because both made me anxious

Amy22

Hiya @Italia im glad actually that you talked about this because it is a very topical topic right now at the moment that needs to be discussed especially within the neurodiverse community. For me public transport can be a mixture of exciting and scary at times. For me I dont mind travelling as long as I know where I am going to, what transport to catch, what time I will be going and returning as well as if there will be any cancellations or like issues that could crop up whilst travelling. I also like travelling with a companion because it makes the journey less isolating and anxiety inducing. Also, when I used to do my BBC traineeship I would constantly have to travel using the train because of where my workplace was based. Luckily, I was able to apply for access to work at the time which meant I would have a support worker who would journey with me to work as well as take me back home alongside staying with me in the office to make sure I was ok throughout the day. For me it's the unexpected happening like suddenly your train has been cancelled and you got to wait, or there's no seat on the bus or train and you have to stand up and I hate the moving motion because it throws me kind of offbalance. Also, sometimes its the noise of the train as it enters the station (where I am from we still have very old trains and sometimes they screech into the station and it goes through my ears). I have considered investing in a pair of Loop earbuds as I heard they can be helpful for travelling and commuting to places where it may be busy or packed.

I feel like public transport has got a long way to go to be where we want it to be (more inclusive and neurodiverse friendly moreover accessible as well). I also notice how a lot of the trains especially the older model of trains were not accessible at all and you could barely fit a wheelchair through the door of the train (sometimes when there was people who needed to use a wheelchair there was no staff at all to help them which was kind of sad to see. This is something I expect to see more of having actual hands on staff who could help with accessibility needs and requirements such as specialist assistance). Again, a lot of public transport will only focus on the needs of a neurotypical person rather than having an open minded view of all types of people. I think there should be more emphasis on neurodiversity and more training for staff so they can better handle certain situations as I think if i was anxious or suddenly had a shutdown the staff on hand woulden't be able to help me at all .

TheNightmare

I really don't like transport, I used to get it from college and decided to get lifts then luckily got to drive but it made me anxious and still does, I occasionally have to get it.