To think that pushchairs should have same priority as wheelchairs on buses?

[SparklyC]

Today - packed bus, I was in the pushchair bit on the bus, another mum got on with a buggy loaded with shopping. People sat in space that could have held another buggy in it didn't get up so both our pushchairs had to go in one space and my pushchair is one of those big all-terrain things! Then bus driver stopped bus for wheelchair user and asked us if either of us could fold down our pushchairs/move? Well, first of all, there wouldn't have been any room for us to sit down with our babies and also have our shopping on our knee or even stored on luggage shelf once pushchairs were on. Also the bus service I travel on has a bus every 4 minutes in the daytime. So the bus driver (who obviously has to be sen to be doing the right thing) got off the bus to tell the wheelchair user that the bus was full, and would he mind waiting for the next one, which he didn't anyway. What does everyone else think? Should we mums with our pushchairs be given the same priority as wheelchairs? Should bus drivers ask other passengers to move so that we can get on, instead of (sometimes) feeling like we are an annoyance and an obstacle to them?

My puppy was disballed recently.

What is the argument about - obviously anyone with a disabled child who needs a special buggy should have as much right to a wheelchair space as a wheelchair user, but I thought that the original premise was that someone with shopping on their pushchair should have as much right to that space. B to that. I don't even care if your child is asleep, the space is for those who need it and all buggys should be folded down.

TheRhubarb Americans call them strollers. We Britons (hate 'Brits') have always called them pushchairs. Prams cannot be folded up; pushchairs can. For me, a 'buggy' is a sort of pushchair. There was a time when prams were like the one illustrated in a previous post but they evolved into carry cots in a foldable, wheeled frame so they could be fitted into cars when cars became more common / affordable. But we still had pushchars at the same time.

But what if the baby explodes if woken unexpectedly and the buggy is a vital cog in the big magical machine that makes the world turn?
What would you do then. Huh? Huh?

I had great answers in november. I only have this shit left.

Debsbear Yes it was originally but my point is you cant always tell whether the child or parent for that matter has special circumstances entitling them to that space. Plus if the bus is already packed with people standing its unreasonable to fold buggies if there isnt anywhere to store them just so a wheelchair can try and get in (if they can).

Pagwatch Ha thats awesome it could happen lol

Did your puppy seem to mind Pag? Did you get him prosthetics so that he still has something to lick?

Plus if the bus is already packed with people standing its unreasonable to fold buggies if there isnt anywhere to store them just so a wheelchair can try and get in (if they can)

No it isn't. Wheelchair users ALWAYS come first. The spaces are for WHEELCHAIRS. They are called WHEELCHAIR SPACES not Buggy Spaces. The clue is in the name.

We have another dog. He seems to be happy to lick his.

What if even once the buggy is folded people are standing in the space holding they're child and buggy because the bus is so packed you can't kick them off and expect them to pay twice for a ticket

NotaStatistic - ds is disabled and in a buggy/pushchair/blah and if someone in a wheelchair (and that includes SN pushchairs, like the one you are talking about) gets on, then yes they would take priority, because ds can be taken out, and sat on my lap, and yes i have woken him up and yes sometimes he has cried, but so far has not exploded and the world has not stopped turning on it's axis.

hazeyjanei never said the SN pushchair didnt get priority over a buggy im not debating that if you can fold you should becuase that is the rule I just think the rule is unfair. Also if the bus is packed anyway folding could take up just as much space as unfolded.

forget wheelchairs and buggies, what about my goat?
he should take priority.
always.
think about the Goats

2shoes If i see a goat on a bus ill remember to make space lol

What if even once the buggy is folded people are standing in the space holding they're child and buggy because the bus is so packed you can't kick them off and expect them to pay twice for a ticket

Yes. If they are standing in the WHEELCHAIR space then the bus driver is at fault - but the WHEELCHAIR USER (who, remember, has no choice and would probably much rather NOT have to use a wheelchair) takes priority over able bodied passengers.

NotaStatistic ahh but what about a goat in wheelchair? does my goat in a wheelchair get on before the goat in a stroller/buggy/pram/pushchair

LtEveDallas how can the driver be at fault?!? He cant predict if a wheelchair user is going to get on. The bus can have people standing in that space it allows for it but you cant kick them off because its a busy day.

I dont choose to push my child round in a buggy but i dont have a choice and I certainly cant hold my child with shopping and a folded buggy im not physically capable on my own and people rarely help.

2shoes tricky tricky still first come first serve sorry disabled goat

I dont choose to push my child round in a buggy but i dont have a choice

I dont understand? Are you disabled, is your child? Not sure what you mean.

The driver is at fault for allowing PEOPLE TO STAND in a WHEELCHAIR space.

If you are able bodied I do not understand why you aren't capable of folding your buggy and holding your child?

I agree that the OP was BU. but would ask people to remember that some mothers might have hidden disabilities. I have arthritis, so couldn't carry my baby any distance in a sling or collapse a buggy one-handed. Just because you can't see a disability doesn't mean it's not there. And it's hard being young and not very visibly disabled, because people expect you to behave like a young, able bodied person. I was once even told by a bus driver that i was lazy because i needed to stay on to the next stop to prevent a short, painful walk. At 16, I was so embarrassed and shy that I got off rather than explain my condition.

However I would take my buggy off the bus if I had to to accommodate a wheelchair user. Every time.

That is the standing space for people when the bus is busy and there is no wheelchair and if the aisle is full of people standing to where can they move to?!?

I have back problems and a very active 15 month old who wont sit still outside the buggy. I cant stand on a bus due to my back. When my DS is older and understands he needs to sit still i would of course fold but also im 24 weeks pregnant which dont help my back (which was a problem before any pregnancies) and when seated i dont have the space for shopping, my toddler and buggy

CurlyCasper I would get off the bus as I have a bus pass...i wouldnt be happy about it though...BUT if ive paid for a one way ticket i would want a refund of the cost of the rest of the journey

Blimey, how often do you think the scenario occurs, where a bus is so packed that a pregnant woman with shopping and a buggy would get kicked off because a wheelchair was getting on, i think Pag's magic world controlling buggy and exploding baby scenario probably occurs more often.

I ask for help all the time and have never had anyone refuse, people might not offer, but if you ask I can't imagine a whole bus full would ignore you.

Of course all these various scenarios would be moot if zombies invaded, then it is every man (and goat) for himself...

I used the word 'scenario' a lot there - sorry!

Ive seen it happen twice and it would have happened more if the people in the wheelcair hadnt been nice and waited for another bus. It may not happen near you but I love on a bus route with a few regular wheelchair bus riders.