“How is this even classified as okay?”
Gary shared his experience online after becoming stranded(Image: @gotta.roll.with.it/Instagram)
A man in a wheelchair has fumed at transport bosses after he was left stranded at a Metrolink stop due to the lifts being out of order. Gary Dawson, who has used the wheelchair since a traffic collision when he was a teenager, shared the now-viral video of his experience on social media.
Gary, who was left paralysed from the chest down and told he would never walk again following the incident, today works with the Spinal Injuries Association and documents his experience of living with a disability through his Instagram @gotta.roll.with.it.
He previously spoke to the Manchester Evening News about the accident, which saw him come off his Suzuki 650s as he was slowing down to a set of traffic lights in 2003, but has since grown an online following.
In a video posted to Instagram on Saturday (December 13), which has since been liked over 2,500 times, Gary filmed himself stranded on the platform at the Failsworth Metrolink stop and slammed Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), saying they ‘clearly don’t care about people with disabilities’.
Gary fumed online after becoming stuck on the platform(Image: @gotta.roll.with.it/Instagram)
In the clip, Gary shows himself on the platform in the wheelchair, panning over to both lifts and claiming they were out of order. He then expresses there is ‘no way down’ with the only other option being stairs.
He says: “Guess what? This lift is out of order.” As he then pans to the other lift on the opposite side of the platform, he adds: “Okay, no problem, there’s another lift there. Guess what? That lift is out of order.
“Can I raise the attention of customer services? Of course not. No-ones answering. The emergency services button? Course not working. And there is no way down. This way, we have stairs, that way, we have stairs.
“How is this even classified as okay? You do not accommodate wheelchair users. How can you even say that you are a travel service for the people, when this is your standard? F****ing sh**e you are.”
In the caption for the video, Gary added: “Now I need to go to the next stop and push the distance back. Thanks @officialtfgm you clearly don’t care about people with disabilities #secondclasscitizen.”
Transport for Greater Manchester has since apologised for the lift faults and that nobody answered Gary’s calls for assistance. The transport body, which runs the Metrolink network, described his experience as ‘unacceptable’ and has apologised for the inconvenience to passengers with mobility issues.
Fran Wilkinson, Director for Customer and Growth at TfGM, said: “We are very sorry that the lifts at Failsworth tram stop were not working when Mr Dawson came to use them on Saturday, and nobody answered his call for assistance.
“His experience of using our network was unacceptable and we are keen to discuss this matter further with him.
“We are committed to ensuring the Bee Network is accessible for all users and are working with the operator to fix this issue at Failsworth as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused, particularly passengers with mobility issues.”