Stephen Magee said TransLink told him his new mobility scooter was 10cm too large for its train services after an independent assessment. The Coleraine resident said the decision left him unable to use trains and unable to switch to buses.
Magee, 47, said he travels by train about once a week to Belfast or Londonderry. He said he bought the scooter because his previous one had begun to show its age, and that he deliberately chose one the same size as the old model.
Stephen Magee and Translink
He said he had used the earlier scooter for about five years without any problems. After the assessment, he received a letter saying the new scooter was too big, and he described the result as disheartening and humiliating.
"I felt disheartened, I felt humiliated in so many ways" he said. "I'm left not being able to go on any trains and I can't use the buses because it will not fit on any of their buses."
Disability Action and IMTAC
A Translink spokesperson said the company was committed to providing accessible services for everyone. The spokesperson said all mobility scooters were assessed through an independent process to make sure they could be accommodated and taken on and off its vehicles safely.
The company has operated that scheme since 2023, developed in partnership with Disability Action and with input from the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee. For scooter users, the assessment now sits between a purchase and a journey: a machine that has worked for years can still be ruled out if the measurement does not fit the service standard.
Magee said he had chosen the scooter to match the size of the old one, yet the assessment still rejected it. He also said train travel was less stressful than driving, which mattered because he said disabled parking in Belfast was often taken by delivery drivers or people without blue badges.
He said: "I don't like the fact that I use a mobility scooter but unfortunately I've been left with no choice."
For people who rely on a scooter to reach stations, the practical step is to check the assessment result against the vehicle size before travel. Magee's case leaves one question at the center of the dispute: what exact measurement in the Translink process put his new scooter outside the limit.
Belfast parking and access
Magee linked the train decision to a wider access problem in Belfast. He said: "I went to the Fleadh [in Belfast] on Monday afternoon but I couldn't get parked, so I just had to come home" and added, "It's almost impossible to get anywhere accessible in Belfast city centre."
He said, "I have a lot of health issues and it makes those health issues worse if I'm not able to do the things I enjoy doing."
