Who has priority with bus

[Corncoby]

I have a minor disability meaning I can’t drive at the moment and rely on the bus and buggy to get around. I never have issue with this as bus has space for 2 buggies in a buggy section and a wheel chair space. For the first time today the bus was busy and the buggy space was taken up with 2 shopping trolleys. I was told bus was full and I couldn’t get on unless I folded my buggy which I can’t do due to disability also wasn’t any space to put buggy once folded really. When I got on the next bus the buggy area states this area is for buggys. Should the trolleys be made to move. It meant I was late for my doctors appointment as even though I had got the earlier bus so that I had plenty of time the second bus was late. Who has priority I guess some of the trolly users could have been disabled too

Why shouldn't they be. Some are designed like that. Essentially they are a walker with a bag attached.

@Corncoby if you need the buggy to stop you falling over and assist with walking and your disability means you can't drive - are you claiming PIP? You might be able to receive some money which could pay towards a taxi when you need to get somewhere.

As an aside I have always thought that buses should have 2 long rows on each side like a tube train with foldable seats. It would mean more room and less chance of issues like these.

I think shopping trolleys and buggies are on par and at that point the person already on the bus has priority. Drivers should help fold buggies if a passenger requests assistance. Yes, some trolleys are too big. So are many buggies today. Yes, some people need buggies because of physical disabilities or limitations, and the same goes for trolleys.

In your ideal world what would have happened/what should the driver have done?

And to the people saying "well they shouldn't use trolleys as disability aids"... fuck off. People with disabilities need to transport shopping and other items and don't have an extra set of arms to use a dedicated mobility aid while also pushing a trolly (or a buggy).

I do too as also in London but where my parents live it’s probably an hours wait between buses! I never risk it so always get the train around when I’m up there but it’s so much more expensive.

The space is for wheelchair users. If there is no wheelchair user needing the space then it can be used for a buggy or trolley, the priority would be whoever is on the bus first.

Yeah it’s definitely different in London, I wouldn’t want to end up in the middle of nowhere with an hour or more wait.

In an ideal world the trolleys would have moved to a different place on the bus which they could have where a few seats where the trolley could have been put next to them. But space not big enough for buggy. In an ideal world I would take buggy down too but I can’t due to disability my husband does it for me at home or if I need to. That’s also with out having to hold my baby in one hand. Often wish I was able to wear my baby but I can’t.

I agree with this.

Isn’t it time buses were designed with more flexibility to accommodate more wheelchairs, buggies and shopping trolleys.
they want more of us to use public transport so make more folding seats etc as the core market
it’s a bit like parent and child spaces more needed and the far side of the car park would be fine

Was there an accesible space open for the trolley and its owner that you and your buggy couldn't have fit in?

When my son was a wheelchair user I was turned away from several buses that had buggies on already, even though he should have had priority. And once from a bus that had loads of luggage (not even babies) in the wheelchair area. I think the bus driver couldn't face the confrontation that would have been needed to get people to move...

@Bignanna what is your alternative??? Some people can't walk very well and use the shopping trolley as a help. Should they not be on the bus??? I use a Zimmer frame to help me, where should I go??? Not all disabilities are visible

Well, I don’t. I don’t feel a suitcase or a wheely bag full of shopping held by an able bodied person able to stand with it in the designated buggy and wheelchair area does take priority over a parent travelling with a baby or toddler in a pushchair.

Of course wheelchairs and mobility scooters have the space if needed first. Then the zimmer frames as I know some have a seat attached. Then buggies. People with other or hidden disabilities have priority seats.

They should have moved their trolleys and let you on. Buggys are always given priority over trolleys where I live. We do have both sides of the buses with fold up seats though.

I was in a similar situation to you when my dc were little. I used to have to leave an hour early for everything (buses every 20 minutes) because 50% of the time the buses wouldn't let me on.

This, but as you can see and bizarrely for a parenting site,.many many people hate pram/buggy users, and think they're entitled evil people who want to throw wheelchair users off of the bus, even when clearly not the case!!

No one gets priority, a wheelchair user can be made to wait for the next bus if a parent and child are in the designated space. It’s a common misconception that the driver has a duty to make people move for disabled people but that isn’t true.

The open spaces on buses should be labelled

“This is a priority disabled user space”

No mention of buggies needed. That is what is confusing the issue.

It’s obvious that’s where you would park a buggy if you didn’t want to fold it and it’s not necessary to label the area.

You’re wrong. Pic just taken on a London bus. Under buggies it says they can use this space if not needed by a wheelchair user

Sorry, if MN would like to include the pic I attached

Why have you decided the trolleys were being used by able bodied people able to stand?

I assumed they were standing with them in the designated wheelchair and buggy area. Which is why the OP couldn’t use the space. If they were not standing with them I don’t see how shopping trolleys could be classed as mobility aids, they are to assist with the carrying of shopping for people who may find it difficult to carry things, so they should have moved them and sat with them in front of them in the priority seats.

Where does it say people were standing with them?

In any case, as has been pointed out, shopping trolleys are often used as mobility aids. Far more than buggies are.

There's not a lot the bus driver can do,to be honest.

They can refuse to move. A bus I was on a while ago, the driver said he wasn't going anywhere if a crowd of schoolkids didn't stop trying to push their way on to an already crowded bus.