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?

Thirdsector there was a really long thread about the ruling last week. Most people agreed with it. Unfortunately there were a few posters who didn't.

You are obviously not a mum or a nanny. If you were you would know that getting off or folding up buggy is not always possible!

Nannygirl, if you had read this thread you would know that the majority of posters who say you can and should fold a buggy are mothers speaking from experience.

I suspect you are not somebody who has had both experiences: taking a toddler around and using a wheelchair. Otherwise you would know the difference.

Taking a baby and a toddler around on public transport in the days before pushchair spaces was sometimes hard work- I won't deny it. I did a lot of it as we had no car.

But it was nothing compared to travelling with a disabled teenager in the days when wheelchair access had been introduced. Nothing, zero, piece of cake. And dd had been a disabled teenager in the days before wheelchair access, we could simply never have gone anywhere.

Nonsense Nannygirl. I managed quite well with a double buggy on and off buses and folding it down when needed. Not one kid injured. Not one kidnapped. Not losing one of them either. Of course it's possible.

They are never the same as a wheelchair user (unless the buggy is a SNs buggy obviously) . Ever.

The courts agreed too given the bloke recently won his case didn't he?

Navy is it just me that's noticed quite a few of these goady pushchair v wheelchair / car seat v P&C space / I can knock people put the way with my pram if they're going too slow for me right? Type threads the last couple of days.

I thought half term was last week (East Mids).

Actually this thread has been quite heartening.

Look at the amount of posters who are defending the rights of wheelchair users.

Yes, you get the odd entitled idiot, who still believes their pushchair should trump a wheelchair but for the most part, a lot of people are trying to educate those that don't/won't understand.

I am a mother of a disabled child who did use a buggy on a bus. I always folded the buggy.

Personally I think most babies whose parents will need to use buses regularly should be in those easily folded maclaren type buggies, which are generally suitable from about 4+ months, and they aren't the size of a tank, but quite slim but still sturdy for long walks. I'd also ban those ridiculous sized buggies getting on, as they take up too much space and cause difficulties for other getting past them. But hey, what do I know, having only been there and done that and bought the bloody maclaren because it was the sensible thing to do. The only exception is twins/two babies. And I'd happily help any parent with two babies.

thenameisbarbara I bought a compact double from mothercare for my two. I managed and was never short of people offering to help when I needed to fold it but many times I didn't need the help as it would fold one handed. It would also slot easily into two fold down seats if that makes sense? So not taking up the entire room either. Also enabled me to walk lots where I needed to and I knew I wouldn't get a space on the bus or be able to fold it quickly. Most bus drivers waited patiently. No idea if they still make it but I loved it and was gutted when the DCs outgrown it. Mainly because the head cushion part was so soft and fluffy DS would fall to sleep every time.

Must we resurrect a 6 year old thread to have the exact same debate again

So report it then bigredboat and let MNHQ decide.

Not everyone checks the dates at the beginning when replying to threads in active discussions.

Or reads the thread...

I think it is fine to resurrect this thread as access for wheelchairs on buses is still an issue & still needing to some people why wheelchairs should have priority. Here is my recent thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2814436-Shopping-with-DS-wheelchair-just-sounding-off-as-I-am-fed-up-today

YABU OP. Buy a baby carrier and store it under your pushchair so if this happens again you can "wear" your child. Not ideal for bigger babies as they can be heavy- but its that, or get off the bus and wait for another

….ie needing to explain to some people re wheelchair priority. I can't tell you how disheartening it is to have to argue & explain these issues over and over again to certain people.

Yabu and you know it you can easily take your child out of your fucking stupid monster pushchair and fold it up but a wheelchair user can't take themselves out of a wheelchair and fold it up because you think your entitled to the same rights as them fuck off you entitled idiot.

What's with the zombie threads today?

Is this a piss take? Of course you should have got off. What is the matter with people? Just another section of society that is 'entitled'. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Because if you are someone who needs to travel on the bus, you factor that in when choosing a buggy/stroller and choose one that folds ffs.

Don't usually post on zombie threads, but it strikes me that the DC in the OP is presumably long out of a buggy now, and the wheelchair user probably still having the same problem with a new cohort of parents. Which rather goes against the OP's point

I use buses a lot, and have done with a pushchair. I've never needed to get off for a wheelchair, but have waited for the next bus several times, and I used a sling with my first most of the time as it was easier. With the pushchair, I was always willing to get off if the space was needed.

I then had twins. Premature twins, who had numerous health problems necessitating numerous hospital appointments in their early weeks. I don't drive. It's also pretty impossible to find an easily foldable buggy for newborn twins, then find people on the bus willing to hold both babies and all their paraphernalia while I fold the buggy, all before the driver takes off at top speed. Those twins had health problems and needed to travel.

I completely agree with the fact that it is a wheelchair space, not a buggy space, and I always tried to leave loads of time so I had a buffer in case I needed to get off the bus and wait - didn't always happen, leaving the house with twins is a nightmare. However, the cries of "get a foldable buggy, fold before getting on the bus, don't be selfish blah blah blah" on the (million) threads there have been on this topic used to really stress me out when I read them when my babies were small. They're bigger now, I don't have to worry about it, but asking a genuine question, would everybody have expected me to leave the bus, even if I explained that I was travelling to a medical appointment with tiny baby twins? Where do they come on priority?

Omg if you actually think it's safe for the baby to be carried on a moving bus or to be sat on an adults lap while bus is moving then you need to do some proper research! My god if that bus had an accident then that baby on the lap would either take the full force of the adults weight going into the chair in front whixh could seriously injure a small baby or the adult may drop the child ending in the same result! Babies need to be in their bigger pushchairs because it is what is safest for them. Safety of children and babies should be paramount. As a nanny and a mother myself the children and babies I care for come above and beyond ANYTHING else. If keeping them safe means that I unwittingly upset one or two people then that's a risk that's worth taking. Safety should be paramount