Discounts for gimps on D.C. Metro

It’s not well known, but the Washington, D.C. Metro system offers discount fare cards for folks with disabilities.. It’s not an easy card to get, however. You need to have your doc fill out an application that asks several questions relating to your ability to get around. Then, you need to appear, in person, to get a picture taken for a photo ID. The card needs to be renewed every 3 years.

On Amtrak’s Acela

I traveled from Washington, DC to NYC and back on Amtrak’s Acela in June.

It was a little bit of a haul for me, walking with my cane from the cab at the front of Union Station to the Customer Service office, where I asked for a wheel chair. I’d called in advance, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Anyway, before too long a Red Cap with a chair did appear and took me right to the train. I discovered that each car has a single seat at each end that’s supposed to be reserved for handicapped travelers. I think I even could have taken my scooter with me. There was room for it in front of that seat and I was told that they would put down a ramp to allow me to ride it over the gap between the platform and the train.

At the the NYC end they, again, weren’t quite ready for me, but after waiting about 5 minutes on the platform a Red Cap with a chair appeared to take me up an elevator and to the cab line.

Returning a few days later it took 20 minutes of waiting, and 3 calls on the phone at the Red Cap stand on the 31 St. side of Penn Station to get someone with a chair. Once he appeared, however, it was smooth riding down to the train and from the train to the cab line at the DC end.