Acsess to work assessment

Sncjw

Hi all

Its been months since I applied for acsess to work on tbe grounds of my deafness making it difficult to get to work along with transport link being poor. 

I travel to work via a metro but it's being so poor lately that ether the system or the train always seems to have a problem. I am unable to understand the tangy from the driver so I can't make an informed decision on whay to do. I try contacting the service if I am at a station for a while via x or twitter but it can take a while for them to get back to me. I struggle with communicating with people I don't know as I often can't understand them plus I am anxious whay they will respond like. Also there is more and more anti social behaviour fro. People of various ages. I often hear shouting but don't understand whay is being g said and if makes me anxious. 

Often the service is down and is stated on tbe website and I have a bus replacement but it stops no where near my home or the stop i would get off at the metro. Also changing from a bus to metro can prove difficult as often dont know which aide of fbe station to use as they sometimes switch tracks.

Since my application I have torn my meniscus and recovered without surgery however there are days when there is a flare up of pain which makes it difficult to walk go public transport.  

I have paid for ubers for a few months. 

Hwo would it work yo be able to get taxis to and from work.

Thank you 

Sncjw

To add i do have alot motability car which my husband is fhe driver for as i can't drive. He is unable to take me to work ( but does drop me off at the metro station in tbe morning) as it would make him late for work. Also he works slightly different hours to me so he is unable to pick me up ether. 

teaselMay

Your husband may find he's not insured for what he's doing with the motability car if it's hired in your name. 

Sncjw

teaselMay said:

Your husband may find he's not insured for what he's doing with the motability car if it's hired in your name. 

He is insured as he is a named driver. 

Spoonie_Turtle

I don't want to be That Person (because I know what's safe and comfortable is not the same as 'what we can manage if we really have to') but AtW are likely to want to find any solution other than the most expensive option of paying for taxis - so a couple of things to think about:

On the point of not understanding people, is pen and paper a solution that you could use to find out what's going on with travel disruptions?

Are there any transport apps that are updated in real-time for you to be able to see platform information as and when it changes?

(Rhetorical, not expecting you to reply here.)

This paragraph:
"Often the service is down and is stated on tbe website and I have a bus replacement but it stops no where near my home or the stop i would get off at the metro. Also changing from a bus to metro can prove difficult as often dont know which aide of fbe station to use as they sometimes switch tracks."
You'd need to explain to them what that has to do with deafness, as from just what you've written there those are inconveniences anyone would face.

The anxiety is harder to mitigate for but also harder to prove and get them to take seriously.  Realistically, people struggle to get AtW to fund transport even when it's indisputably clear they physically cannot access the public transport options available to them.


Your motability car is supposed to be used for you and your benefit only, if your husband is using it for his commute that's a grey area.  There may be an argument that it could work out cheaper to buy your own car then the money you gain from no longer sacrificing your whole mobility element of PIP could go towards paying for taxis yourself.  You'd have to do the maths, of course.  But AtW are bound to ask why you can't use your Motability car, getting you to and from work is exactly the kind of thing the scheme was designed for.

teaselMay

Being named driver does not cover driving to his work, unless it's been specifically added for him. The fact that it's being used for his needs and not yours is what means he's unlikely to be insured - it breaches the vehicle tax exemption rules and the Motability contract rules too.

Sncjw

Spoonie_Turtle said:

I don't want to be That Person (because I know what's safe and comfortable is not the same as 'what we can manage if we really have to') but AtW are likely to want to find any solution other than the most expensive option of paying for taxis - so a couple of things to think about:

On the point of not understanding people, is pen and paper a solution that you could use to find out what's going on with travel disruptions?

Are there any transport apps that are updated in real-time for you to be able to see platform information as and when it changes?

(Rhetorical, not expecting you to reply here.)

This paragraph:
"Often the service is down and is stated on tbe website and I have a bus replacement but it stops no where near my home or the stop i would get off at the metro. Also changing from a bus to metro can prove difficult as often dont know which aide of fbe station to use as they sometimes switch tracks."
You'd need to explain to them what that has to do with deafness, as from just what you've written there those are inconveniences anyone would face.

The anxiety is harder to mitigate for but also harder to prove and get them to take seriously.  Realistically, people struggle to get AtW to fund transport even when it's indisputably clear they physically cannot access the public transport options available to them.


Your motability car is supposed to be used for you and your benefit only, if your husband is using it for his commute that's a grey area.  There may be an argument that it could work out cheaper to buy your own car then the money you gain from no longer sacrificing your whole mobility element of PIP could go towards paying for taxis yourself.  You'd have to do the maths, of course.  But AtW are bound to ask why you can't use your Motability car, getting you to and from work is exactly the kind of thing the scheme was designed for.

I didn't say he was using ir for his commute. I said he if dropped me off at work he would be late for his. 

He would have to travel home and then use pu lic transport for him to get to work. 

They do have an app but it doesn't always work and I don't have signal underground.  I can not hear a tannoy. 

The pen and paper things yes it may work but again I don't know what people's attitudes re like..

Sncjw

teaselMay said:

Being named driver does not cover driving to his work, unless it's been specifically added for him. The fact that it's being used for his needs and not yours is what means he's unlikely to be insured - it breaches the vehicle tax exemption rules and the Motability contract rules too.

I never said he is using it for his work. You just assumed so
.

teaselMay

Ok, sorry that's how it read. But the whole point of the mobility component of PIP is to help you with things like this. Instead of the car that can't take you to work could you use the PIP to pay for taxis? That's what I had to do when I couldn't drive.

Sncjw

Bur I need the car for journeys outside of work. 

swingaloo

The PIP money would be better for you than a mobility car. You could use it to pay for taxis so you wouldnt have the worry public transport is causing you.