Buggies must be folded by law, if a wheelchair user wishes to board

[BerniceBroadside]

I know this can be a hot topic so thought I'd share that stagecoach have new signs on their buses stating that buggies must be folded by law if a wheelchair user wishes to board. Let's hope it's actually enforced.

After a caesarean you are supposed to avoid lifting anything heavier than your baby. Lifting a heavy pram, a baby & a toddler is going to result in masses of pain & probable injury.

Then what in the blazes would she be doing out and about anyway? Seriously, she can't lift, but she would've had to set up the pram at home, get the kids in it, get it outside the door, get to the bus stop.

Again, much sympathy, have been in a position with newborn and toddler. It's a struggle, but you make adjustments and it's doable.

As Gobby said

You ask for help. Your buggy folds, it may take some help from other passengers or the driver, but it folds.

Most wheelchairs/sn buggies don't fold - so there is no other option.

Sorry, but as miserable as it is, people always describe "newly delivered women" as practically at death's door they're so frail. People have been having babies for awhile now, you know. People have managed it for years, with a little ingenuity. In most cases, it can be done with simple preparation and adjustments.

After a caesarean you are supposed to avoid lifting anything heavier than your baby. Lifting a heavy pram, a baby & a toddler is going to result in masses of pain & probable injury.

Oh good grief, we can go through invented situation after invented situation, but all these invented situations involve temporary inconveniences.
It's a wheelchair space, you know, for people who use a wheelchair, from which they cannot escape.

I feel like banging my head against the wall reading certain posters comments re everyone being entitled to use wheelchair spaces.

We had the situation where DD was in her SN pushchair and was refused onto bus as there was a pushchair in space. My DH argued with the bus driver that this stance was discrimination and eventually the other parents heard enough that they took pushchair down and we could use space.

DD's needs are such that she could not be taken out of chair and this was the only space available.

The thing is DD's SN pushchair is a wheelchair, it was issued by wheelchair services and without it she would not be able to get around, something that other people cannot or will not grasp.

The thing is sparkles most of us with experience would actually recognise a Maclaren Major or similar, and would (both dd and I have) speak up for you. I agree that some drivers need more training and yes, there are plenty of people that need to recognise but as my dd says, they don't want to.

I know.. it's all "but but but.. what if.. but..."

Nope. Sorry. Wheelchair takes priority. And repeat.

yes the experience was very unpleasant to say the least and I felt like people were burning holes into the back of my neck.

The SN pushchair has lateral supports, a footplate and a beautiful DD who was wearing a bright red helmet and an leg splint. Fairly obvious I thought that she was not your average child in normal pushchair.

Dawndonnagain I agree there should be more training but I think unless this is mandatory it wont happen. I wish u had been on the bus, support from others is so often few and far between!!

Shlepping multiple babies/young children on the bus is a PITA but it is temporary. They will grow up and (hopefully) become able bodied adults, so you won't have to worry about how to transport them anymore. Most disabilities are permanent, so travel will always be an issue. It's not just a challenging phase, it's a challenging life.

Good health and being able bodied is not a given. I woke up one day and my joints were sore, puffy and stuff, within days, I was barely walking. Within weeks, I required full time care. One day, it might not just be a discussion on a message board, it might be your life.

*Stiff, obviously not stuff!

'Re the old days they had more space and less rows were reserved for the elderly'

I'm from the Old Days, and the elderly were usually given a seat automatically by someone seated. So they didn't have the need for as many priority seats.
But those were also the days when an entire busload would tut and heckle, without fear of violence.

Where we used to live the buses managed to have enough space for everyone. They had a wheelchair space on each side, plus flip down seats in the whole of the front area so that in addition to 2 wheelchairs you could also fit 2 - 4 pushchairs. They also managed to have 2 rows of priority seating for elderly/ disabled.

Since all the buses are run by the same 2 - 4 companies across the UK I can't understand why there is such a discrepancy across the country. It can't be that difficult can it, to accommodate everyone.

Any bus company execs reading this, please take note.

Yes and in the old days mothers were helped,people budged up and space was made.

Re multiples being temporary it's neither here nor there.The fact is in the here and now for some it will be impossible to fold,hold and move safely.

It is not the act of folding but the act of folding,holding multiple babies and carrying a buggy with buggy board all at the same time whilst a bus is moving.

All passengers have a right to travel safely.Bus companies will have to bare this in mind and accommodate said customers which is not impossible to do in ways to help all as I have illustrated.It is not a competition.

Some posters seem to very anti multiples and anti multiple mums being helped and accommodated safely just for the sake of it.

Not nice.

It is not impossible to fold a buggy on a bus as long as you have the support of others. It is actually impossible to lift my 6ft, muscley paraplegic friend out of his wheelchair without a hoist.

It is not the act of folding but the act of folding,holding multiple babies and carrying a buggy with buggy board all at the same time whilst a bus is moving.
Oh good grief. RTFT. I've already told you, I managed it. You are coming on here, every few posts and saying the same thing, every time. We have given you answers, solutions to difficulties you may or may not face and yet still you ignore all those solutions, all those posters and claim that you are being victimised.

Some posters seem to very anti multiples and anti multiple mums being helped and accommodated safely just for the sake of it.
AS THE MOTHER OF TWINS THIS IS BOLLOCKS
Have you got it yet, Retro

Retro, what are you talking about! Noone has said anything remotely anti 'multiples' loads of people on here have said they have multiples!

i don't have multiples, but I have 3 children, 2 a year apart and one disabled, I know it is a struggle to travel on public transport!

I was thinking about this thread in the middle of the night as I sat up with ds, and how when I had an unsleeping dd1, I would say to myself - 'its only a phase,this too will pass', and how hard it is with ds because I can't say that. If you have a shit journey on the bus, you can say to yourself, this will get easier. This isn't necessarily the case if you or your children are disabled.

And as you said earlier Retro, you didn't really use the bus much. I did use the bus a lot, even with a double. When we struggled with the school bus, I phoned the company to complain about the original driver, and they made changes to accommodate us, I don't understand why this would be so hard.

All passengers have a right to travel safely.Bus companies will have to bare this in mind and accommodate said customers which is not impossible to do in ways to help all as I have illustrated.It is not a competition.

No. It is NOT a competition. It is a WHEELCHAIR space first and foremost. (puzzled at need to repeat this yet once again)

All passenger do have a right to travel safely. Therefore they need to take responsibility in the form of:

• assessing their situation when planning their family. If regular bus user, consider whether or not they can cope with children that close together. If it impacts your life, it needs to be considered in that decision. It's only common sense.

• planning your journey accordingly and using adjustments as necessary. See if someone you know is going the same area and can assist with DCs. Use a carrier or sling. Use a backpack. Common sense.

• get a pushchair that is easily foldable and practice with it at home so that you are comfortable opening and closing it one handed. Common sense.

• ask for help on the bus and speak up for yourself. Common sense.

• limit the amount of shopping that carry at one time so you're not overloaded. Common sense.

Fair bit of common sense in those steps, which means some will struggle more than other with it.

Bus companies only have to accommodate according to the law tbh. Which is why there is a wheelchair space and not a pushchair space. If you WANT a pushchair space, stop whinging about how difficult it is and go contact the bus companies to lobby for one.

I don't anticipate you will, as you seem to be much more inclined to complain than actually DO something about the situation. I have no patience for someone that goes on and on about what an issue it is, but has no inclination to take steps to solve the problem.

I don't understand this? Perhaps it's just me, but the way I see it, a person is in a wheelchair because they can walk it move easily. A baby is in a pushchair because it makes it easier for the parent. I got off a bus once because a wheelchair user boarded and I was getting off in 2 stops, and actually, it was easier All round for me to
Walk the last little bit that try to fold my pushchair down with the shopping. I actually just said to the wheelchair user if she could wait a sec I was getting off anyway, rather than make her feel uncomfortable. People seem to have lost common decency :(

Mums of multiples aren't a protected group by law.

Disabled people are, under the Equality Act.
Shame that's not acknowledged on mn.

Other protected groups are.

We very occasionally use the bus- dh is a wheelchair user (powerchair). I fold up the buggy, carry youngest dc. When he was small, I used a sling. A handful of times, the driver has had to clear whole families sitting with a toddler in the wheelchair space . Dh is quite easy going and will suggest they can actually fit the buggy in at his feet- but tbh it's their risk- if the bus stopped suddenly and his chair slid... some people seem incapable of folding their own pushchair and make a massive fuss about it. They ignore dh- as if he doesn't exist- if he says anything to them. I get on behind him, carrying our buggy ready folded- they ignore me, too.

When our dc1 was small, the low floor buses were only just being introduced (14yrs ago), so I used to put him in the sling for the bus and fold it, then put him back in the buggy when we'd got off. Or the driver would hold him, or someone else would- I never had to ask actually, because I was quite capable of holding him and folding it up/carrying it myself, but people used to offer to help us. I've done buses on crutches with 3 small children with me, folded the buggy and carried it on/off. It's not that hard to do, I really don't understand- it's really not the hardest thing you'd encounter in life- how do people manage with other stuff? How did they assemble the buggy together in the first place, if they don't know how to fold it? Where do they store these unfoldable buggies at home? I have a silvercross sleepover pram- it folds easily, two sections to it- chassis and seat- I don't use it for the bus of course because it's huge, but it folds, it is currently folded and occupies a smaller footprint folded than when it's not. And if some insane reason it was absolutely necessary to take it on a bus, I'd be confident in my ability to fold it and carry it, with small child and bags, because I'd have to. And because it's actually not that hard to do.

Dh sometimes offers to swap if people say stupid things to him. We'd both sooner our only concern about catching the bus was how to fold up the buggy. I'm afraid I lump together people who can't work out how to move the buggy out the bus wheelchair space with the people who park over lowered curbs... or shield their children from dh in shops (maybe it's catching... or maybe he'll run them over...), or the strangers who pat dh on the arm and speak condescendingly... or who do a double take when they realise we're with him, as if being unable to walk far means you're also unable to be married and have children... There's a lot of ignorance about disability out there. Also a lack of common sense!