Bus driver refused to make passenger leave

Not sure I agree. The bus drivers in my area enforce this very simply. They simply stop the bus if passengers don't make way for a wheelchair and nobody goes anywhere! Somehow that works a charm.

And if the passenger says no?

Unfortunately money comes first, and bus companies make far more money out of parents with buggies using the buses all day long, than the relatively small amount of wheelchair users.

Although I'm sure if they closed the space off, they'd get more wheelchair users confident enough to travel.

But again they'll be sadly considered an inconvenience because the more wheelchair users there are, the more the buses will run late, due to having to lower/higher the ramp to let them on and off.

So not only are the passengers who won't move utterly selfish, but the bus companies too.

There's no 'technically' about it!

@snowmichael

Op hadn't been assaulted.....she had THREATENED to do so herself tho..

I wonder why you don't believe it. I can easily see it happening on public transport especially when the disabled person doesn't back down and accept the shit they're being dealt with, which ranges from their space being abused to being verbally abused.

Do you even know what assault is?
It absolutely is a 999 appropriate offence

If the passenger refuses without a good reason, the driver should tell them they are required to move.
As per the link

999?! Don't be so utterly ridiculous that is NOT what 999 is for!!!

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/buses-and-coaches-features-and-help-for-disabled-people/buses-and-coaches-features-and-help-for-disabled-people
You are the one with personal opinion that is incorrect
The person you replied so snottily to quoted fact

My god I'm glad I don't live in London.

Also glad I don't have to use public transport, it sounds vile

👏👏👏

Not true.

It would be full if the priority wheelchair space was taken up by someone in a wheelchair.

But if the wheelchair space ant occupied then there's space.

People just don't want to move.

The same way people park in BB spaces because "they'll only be a minute" without a thought for the disabled person having a disability for life.

I've experienced people dipping their heads into their phones so they don't need to move a row on a train so my ds can get his wheelchair in the space.

I've also stood up from priority seats so a parent can sit their child in the space whilst they are in a wheelchair because I can stand whilst being near my ds.

It's called common decency. Something that's sadly lacking currently.

I will though say when ds and I have travelled the tube with his wheelchair people cannot move quick enough from the priory seats for him! He's not even in his wheelchair some of the time!

I am sorry you had to be put in this situation and I am sorry for the 100’s if not 1000’s of disabled people who face this daily. I don’t know the legalities of what the driver should have done but I do know people with an iota of decency and common sense would have given priority to the wheelchair user. It is, sadly, a regular occurrence that people are assaulted on public transport and are too afraid to intervene and the driver is only human too. We need real change and real awareness of what other people have to face daily and what we take for granted.

Only those with disabilities, obviously 🙄

Unless it’s a situation where they need to call the police they will probably play a recorded message then keep driving.

Or not lower the ramp in the first place, because passengers ignored the recorded message asking them to move.

I don't blame any drivers for not wanting to remonstrate with passengers, but this man made it worse by allowing a wheelchair on when there was no safe space for it.

I can't imagine what goes through the minds of the selfish bastards who ignore the recorded messages.

They can refuse to drive on though untill everyone cooperates

Bus drivers can't physically move anyone, surely people know that? Do people really expect bus drivers to man handle passengers and their property? They would be sacked.

I have been on a bus where a very aggressive passenger, screaming abuse, caused the driver to refuse to move while he called the police to deal with her - yes, it was a woman.

DH and quite a few of his friends have driven buses in London (they are immigrants and it’s a job you can qualify for relatively easily). Each one of them have stories of threats and violence towards them.

Bus drivers will not get out of the cab and intervene because if they get harmed the bus company will blame them for putting themselves in danger.
If they refuse to drive off and stop the bus they will be hauled into the management for not driving to their timetable.
Unless it’s a situation where they need to call the police they will probably play a recorded message then keep driving.

Only if the wheel chair space is full of other wheel chairs

If they're going to lower the ramp then it absolutely is their duty.

Because wheelchairs are not allowed in the aisle. The chair has to be positioned properly with it's back against the wall, and brakes applied.

The correct thing to do is ask passengers to clear the space and if they don't, not to lower the ramp.

An unsecured wheelchair in the aisle is dangerous for everyone on the bus.

I’m sorry this happened, OP, and I’m sorry the bus driver was so crap!
where I live, drivers would make people move and get off if necessary to accommodate wheelchairs.

If there is anything in a wheelchair space other than another wheelchair, it should be removed when a passenger in a wheelchair gets on. That is the law. OP expecting to access the wheelchair space isn't expecting the world to revolve round her. Your comment is disgusting and ableist.

Perhaps it was the leaping that surprised him? I think most people just get off normally.