Campaigners have accused one of the UK’s leading train companies of “virtue signalling without the virtue” after it used images of wheelchair users that they say do not reflect the reality of travelling with a disability.
Baraka Carberry, a digital artist, created a new livery for Avanti West Coast, which provides rail links between London and Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland, which shows “scenes of people, culture, colours and joy”.
But the images showing two female wheelchair users – and suggesting they are enjoying a journey together – doesn’t take into account that each train only has one wheelchair space in standard class and another in first class, meaning two friends or family members who are wheelchair users cannot travel together in standard class and would have to take separate trains.
Titled “Together We Roll”, the promotional images stretch across all seven carriages of the new Evero train.
Alice Maynard, a lifetime wheelchair user and former Railtrack head of disability strategy, highlighted the disparity between the image and the reality of travelling.
Alice, a business adviser and coach who has also worked for Transport for London and the Department for Transport, told The Guardian it would be preferable to increase wheelchair spaces on trains rather than just having glossy images suggesting that this was the case.
She said: “The images are supposed to be celebratory but they don’t celebrate us. It’s a nonsense. This is virtue signalling without the virtue.”
The issue also drew criticism from Anne Wafula Strike, a Paralympian and wheelchair user who also campaigns for improved accessibility for disabled people on public transport.
She said: “Disabled people feel so disenfranchised at the moment and it’s very difficult to challenge these things. What happens if a couple who are wheelchair users want to travel together on one of these trains? When it comes to transport, disabled people’s world is shrinking. It isn’t a level playing field between disabled people and big corporates.”
A spokesperson for Avanti West Coast told The Guardian: “There has not been a reduction in wheelchair spaces on any of our trains and the layout has not been changed either. All our trains comply with current legislation regarding provision for wheelchair spaces onboard.
“However, we are sorry to hear that Alice Maynard was upset by some of the imagery on our Together We Roll train. The wrap design was born out of an idea from our frontline colleagues to celebrate our diversity in our workforce as well as the communities we serve on the west coast mainline, including many of our valued customers who are wheelchairs users. We are proud to be a company that highlights the importance of inclusivity, and this artwork reflects that.”