You know the word ‘public’? Well, I googled a dictionary definition. It reads: ‘for the community as a whole; open to all persons’. So you get the idea.

Now add the word transport and it all changes if you have a disability.

I have been burning the candle at both ends recently, with parties and events in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Cambridge and back to Oxford in between. Driving long distances when tired is bad news, so on my recent jolly to Edinburgh I opted for the train.

If you play by the rules for train travel, you are supposed to book 48 hours in advance. Which means of course you can’t be spontaneous.

As such, on this occasion I decided just to turn up... Big mistake, the ticket man behind the counter told me off and told me I had to wait two to three hours for assistance.

After finally persuading the guy to issue me with the tickets, they managed to get me on the train in less than five minutes.

To be fair, thereafter the service was perfect. At all changes I was met with friendly, helpful platform staff armed with ramps and one conductor even offered to get me a cuppa from the buffet car.

But due to my oh-so efficient ticket issuer in Oxford, I was forced to pre-book on a train for the way back from Edinburgh.

Well I slept in and missed my booked assistance.

Thankfully, when I turned up at Edinburgh, Scottish hospitality kicked in and they got me on the next train. The standard class wheelchair space was already taken so I got bumped up to first class. After a lovely pie and a G and T, I arrived in London four-and-a-bit hours later.

Tired and looking forward to having dinner with mates, another fight developed with the nation’s rail system.

Normally a quick 20 minute ride on the train to my friend’s place, it ended up being an hour later before I even moved.

I got down to the platform, only to be told I couldn’t get on the train as there was no one to get me off, so I had to go back up in the lift to wait about 45 minutes for a taxi and then sit in traffic for a further 45.

So technically, yes, public transport is open to all, but with all the rules, bureaucracy and lack of level access, it’s certainly not an equal experience.