To be very very angry? (Disabled DS denied wheelchair space on bus - again)

[LifeHope11]

DS (11y) was about to get on the bus with his carer but the driver refused to let them on....shook his head and said 'sorry you can't get on, there are two prams in the space' and then shut the doors and drove off.

DH & I are both livid, this is not the first time this has happened.

DH complained to the bus company.....the first person he spoke to claimed that if there are 2 prams on board they take priority over a wheelchair! That was news to us, and appears to contradict the notices on the wheelchair spaces on the buses which states that priority is given to wheelchairs and anyone else in the space must give way etc. DH refused to accept this response & demanded to speak to a manager who gave him a case number. So we are waiting to hear more.

i feel that our DS has been discriminated against and denied his right to travel freely. Just to be sure, we don't blame the owners of the buggies on the bus....they were never even asked to move & probably were not aware of anything. But I don't want this kind of treatment of the disabled to be acceptable any more and I want things to change.

Is part of the problem that people nowadays have oversized/difficult to fold buggies? The little McClaren I had wouldn't have needed to go in the wheelchair space.

FCFS Maggie?

Why should the wheelchair be at a disadvantage to an able-bodied person who coukd get on?

NOT AT ALL.

Wheelchairs should take priority over prams. I would suggest contacting the MD or whatever highest power the company has, but also your local MP.
Disgraceful and inexcusable treatment.

I think mushroom is simply posting to be inflammatory.

And people with buggies can in fact walk. They don't have their time out restricted by pain management, carers time, toiletting issues and tiredness ect.

YANBU, unfortunately some bus drivers are just lazy, I've seen this happen when I lived in a city pre DD and was waiting for a bus along with a wheelchair user and her partner and the bus driver told them they couldn't get on because he already had a pushchair on board, he obviously couldn't be arsed with the hassle of getting up and telling the pushchair mum to fold up, it's a disgrace.

YANBU
Pram people should fold them up and make space for a wheelchair, all passengers should work together to ensure wheelchair person is not left stranded on side of street.
I bet the driver never even asked the pram people to budge up.

Mmmmm. I've got a craving for mushrooms on toast!

Mushroom - the space is provided for wheelchair users. The space is not provided for buggies. Buggies can be folded wheelchair users cannot fold the wheelchair. The space was put on the bus after a very long campaign to make the bus accessible for wheelchair users. It is discrimination to not allow a wheelchair user to use the space, which is there for them, because an able body person is there instead, as the buggies could be folded.

sorry Muchroom you are completely wrong and your 'attitude' is a concern, do you not move for an elderly passenger on the bus which is designated for them ? No you probably sit there whilst the elderly passenger stands, think of the fact that a 11 year old who cannot stand and is confind to a wheelchair is not given priority over prams, are you stating that you would not move or fold your pram for a child who does not have any mobility ? Discrimination is not strong enough term and the fact you cannot acknowledge this speaks volumes, shame.

Able bodied people have the option of walking, buggies can fold.

Unless you make a complaint nothing will change.

I'm very sorry your DS was treated this way and please do take it further than the bus company - the driver needs serious re-training, if not a good kick up the backside (sorry, normally anti-violence).

It's great DS gets enjoyment from travel - I would move straight away if my buggy was in the way, you have the right to the space and those who wouldn't move have no heart or basic manners.

"I think that other passengers should be required to vacate the wheelchair space when needed, and if they refuse to move then the driver should take the bus out of action, ie switch the engine off and refuse to move until the space is vacated."

This is what should happen- I have been on a bus where this exact scenario happened. Wheelchair users have priority- whether or not anyone agrees or disagrees with this is academic, as it is the law on London buses.

I say contact Ken

If you speak to the Bus Company and TfL I'm sure they will be horrified that this happened. No doubt a bus driver who had an empathy bypass. May I suggest that you also apply for a Taxicard through your borough. We have one for my DS and it has given him incredible freedom to get around London. Google Taxi card and your borough. The card allows a certain number of very low cost taxi journeys per year. It is a low cost solution for the council to inadequate access for the disabled on tubes and buses.

OP, so sorry to read about this. Take it further with the bus company and make sure someone higher up knows how ignorant the person you tried to complain to first is. I also think you should contact your M.P. about this, and as another poster suggested, the Commission for Equality (apologies if that's not the correct name). This bus driver and possibly the bus company must be in breach of discrimination laws and they shouldn't get away with what they did.

Thankfully, in the last week, I have decommissioned the buggy after two DCs. What it has taught me is how absolutely inconvenient it is to get around on wheels. It's not only buses, its lifts (especially small ones) narrow pavements etc. Fortunately we are not buggy uses forever, but I feel so much for wheelchair users who often might be. Fold up that buggy if you can. Take the stairs/escalators not the lift if you can. Don't park your car on the pavement leaving no room to get by. Get stroppy if you see the kind of behaviour this bus driver displayed. Because as buggy pushers, we have had a short glimpse into the kind of struggle some people have to live every day of their lives.

YANBU OP. good luck with your complaint.

That said I have a large degree of sympathy for people who have to take prams on buses. I don't have to get the bus now thank fuck but pre-DC I lived in a major city and was twice handed a baby to hold by random strangers who were struggling to fold their pushchairs. Just about cacked it the first time, not sure I had ever held a baby before. Am pretty sure at least one of then was an umbrella fold maclaren type thing too. Also people with twins/ 2 DC v close in age can't fold their buggies and hold their children, or use slings. They obviously can get off, but that would mean buying another ticket/ potentially having a long wait for the next one. The best solution would be for buses to have plenty of room for wheelchairs and push hairs.

Don't start me on lazy feckers who don't make room for wheelchair users in lifts...

Growlithe so very true. I suddenly realised how thoughtless people are towards disabled people the very first time I took my eldest DC out in her pram. We had to wait for ages for the lift in John Lewis alongside a lovely couple one of whom was in a wheelchair. The lift stopped a few times but was full of people who could have walked out, strolled 5 or 6 yards, and have takenthe escalator instead. That lady had to wait for ages because of laziness on the part of perfectly able-bodied people. I would never have realised how thoughtless people can be towards the disabled if I didn't have to push a pram. And it was much harder to deal with wheelie bins/ cars on pavement when pushing my 14 stone disabled granny in her wheelchair than pushing DC in their super light modern buggies.

Mushroom has just proved my point, thanks.