Considering the the Yellow Cabs of NYC are an absolute icon, I was pleased to see on arrival yesterday that a great many of them had been converted into wheelchair accessible vehicles.
The conversion was solid and they have all the relevant safety features to boot, the only problem is that the drivers just don’t have a clue!
Now I don’t want to generalise, I only experienced two journeys (one of which was about 1 hour 30 mins) but f*ck me are they awful. New York roads are scary to most, imagine being driven them in what is effectively the boot of an SUV with no tie downs, seatbelts or securement of any kind (unless you count being squashed in by suitcases on all sides). The windows are tiny, you can’t communicate with driver or passengers and there isn’t actually enough space for your footplates so your feet are up against the back of the seat in front, bracing you against said seat every time your 160kg wheelchair slides forward!
Give me a good old Black Cab any day!!
You may have gathered but this experience made me very very angry! It’s so overwhelmingly undignified and rather scary. I was terrified that either me or my wheelchair (or both) were going to come out damaged, how we didn’t (apart from a wicked headache and very sore knees) I have no idea! Thankfully we survived to make it to the centre of New York.
Image Description: my wheelchair from the front with a ‘I survived my trip to NYC’ t-shirt covering it.
We only had just over an hour to explore (after downing a hot chocolate to celebrate my survival) so we took a stroll up broadway a couple of blocks (if you know you know) and had a peek of Times Square and the Empire State Building. New York is loud and busy and had a similar vibe to central London which was comfortingly familiar. The energy was exciting and I would love to catch a show one day in the future but personally I couldn’t spend more than a few days in the madness.
Image Description: A sneak peak at the Empire State Building.
After our wander we caught a Trailways bus from the city bus terminal and made the 3 hour journey upstate to Albany, New York’s capital. This journey, by extreme contrast, was rather peaceful and scenic, the upstate scenery, green soft hills, reminding me very much of the landscape at home - believe it or not South Wales has better quality roads!
Albany itself is a much quieter place with some impressively beautiful big buildings and a lot of history. We have come to Albany to visit an adaptive sports facility nearby which is tomorrow’s plan. I’m looking forward to see how things differ here on the East coast. So far we have found transport here far more challenging which is interesting. Each location couldn’t feel more different from the last and you never quite know what to expect. So far many of my expectations have been turned on their head so I wonder if this will continue as we journey on? Secretly, I think I hope it does.
Image Description: Me in my wheelchair on a platform lift on the side of a large coach.
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