RADAR Bathroom Key and Guides
Disabled Travel Resources and Access to 7000 UK Toilets
In the UK, Victorian train stations, Gothic ruins, and public libraries must be accessible to disabled people. The free RADAR Toilet Key helps open leisure travel to all.
The London-based Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, or RADAR offers a special key that opens bathroom doors in public places all over the UK giving disabled people immediate, independent access to appropriate bathrooms.
RADAR's National Key Scheme
The group works to empower disabled people, that is, people with physical, sensory or learning disabilities, and those with physical and mental health problems whether permanent or temporary. Fifteen percent of the UK population are disabled and it is estimated that 30% of the population could benefit from general accessibility at some point in their lives.
One of the ways RADAR empowers people is by making travel easier. The availability of an "accessible toilet" that is, a toilet designed to accomodate disabilities, makes travel easier. Accessible toilet facilities are legally mandatory in public places; unfortunately, in public places where misuse is a problem, bathrooms are often kept locked and untended. The RADAR key provides an independent access to 7000 of these otherwise-locked facilities. City and town councils throughout the UK also provide this key.
A map of accessible UK train stations is here.
How the Key Scheme Works
RADAR's National Key allows access to 7000 toilets (called 'disabled toilets' in the UK) usually in train stations like Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly.
While management is encouraged to keep their accessible facilities unlocked at all times; the RADAR key is for toilets that would usually be locked to prevent vandalism or misuse. Many sites house the key at a reception desk, however, for independent access without having to find the receptiion desk or the person with the key, you can buy your own key giving you freedom of immediate access.
The key is priced by RADAR to cover expenses at 3 pounds 50 pence if you are a UK citizen for whom VAT is waived, with VAT: 4 pounds 11 (about US$8.00). Delivery to Europe is 4.55 (US$9.00), and elsewhere 5.40 (US$10.00). If you are a UK resident, the key is available, usually at no charge or just VAT, from your local council.
The RADAR National Key Scheme Guide that lists the 7000 public toilets costs 10.25 pounds ($20.50) for UK delivery, 12.50 ($25.00) in Europe and 15.50 ($31.00) elsewhere. Thirty dollars might sound expensive to a US buyer, but the RADAR writers have done considerable leg-work to compile these sites. An alternative is DisabledGo which provides an on-line and encyclopedic list of accessible public places from train stations to restaurants throughout the UK giving lengthy standardized reviews of each.
Useful Europe Travel Guides and a Free Caravanning Guide
In addition to the Key Scheme Guide, RADAR offers several travel guides that would be useful to anyone including
- 1500 Places to Stay in All Parts of UK and Eire
- Get Caravanning' which written by the Caravanning Club and is FREE; and
- "There and Back" about longer distance travel and how best to link train, air, and plane transport modes.
RADAR's Work Makes Disabled Travel, Life Easier
In addition to their "big-picture" political role, keeping the rights of the disabled in the public discussion, RADAR's "little-picture" role is just as important. RADAR seeks to enhance people's quality of life by Ironing out those everyday struggles that range from helping to find relevant services and facilities, financing a care-giver, learning how to maintain a car, or locate services for disabled kids.
Making travel easier - or in some cases, merely possible - means making the world a bigger place for people who find getting around a challenge. Easier travel means not only being able to consider living and working over a wider area, but, by making travel less complicated, facilitating wider, easier, less-worrisome and wearisome travel means going places just for the fun of it- empowering people to enjoy travel for pleasure.
