When “Convenience” Leaves People Behind

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A man in a wheelchair faces a row of parcel lockers across uneven grey shale, looking defeated. The raised platform and rough ground symbolise the barriers disabled people face when “convenient” services are designed without accessibility in mind.Ever tried using a parcel return point from a wheelchair?

I did recently — or rather, I tried to. What followed was a lesson in how clever ideas can become barriers when inclusion isn’t part of the plan.

At my local Morrisons, there’s a shiny new self-service parcel drop-off point tucked away at the back of the garage forecourt. There’s no dedicated parking for it, so the only option is to stop in the forecourt itself. The service road leading to the supermarket is on a bend, and pulling up there would be far too risky. From the forecourt, there are no dropped kerbs, so you first have to brave a busy service road. Then comes a raised kerb and a stretch of loose grey shale before you even reach the machine. And even if you get that far, the scanner and parcel boxes are mounted so high they’re out of reach.

And then there’s the unspoken assumption: that wheelchair users always have someone with them. That we never go anywhere alone. In reality, many of us are perfectly independent — doing the same everyday things as anyone else: shopping, posting parcels, living our lives. It shouldn’t take a companion to make a public service usable.

So there I was, surrounded by technology designed to make life easier, yet completely excluded from using it.

It’s a small example, but it captures a wider truth. Too often, innovation races ahead without inclusion following close behind. New services appear with fanfare about “convenience” and “customer experience”, but if disabled people aren’t consulted at the design stage, those benefits simply don’t reach everyone.

And let’s be clear — this isn’t just bad design, it’s against the law. The Equality Act 2010 requires that services provided to the public are accessible to disabled people, or that reasonable adjustments are made so they can be used. The Equality and Human Rights Commission reinforces this duty in its guidance, reminding service providers and local authorities that accessibility isn’t optional. Which does make you wonder — how did a site like this ever pass planning consent, given the complete absence of dropped kerbs or accessible routes?

Accessibility isn’t a bolt-on or a box-tick. It’s about participation. If something is meant for everyone, then everyone’s experience needs to be part of its design.

Until that happens, progress will keep rolling forward — while some of us are left waiting at the kerb.

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