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.

Afternoon.

Many thanks for pointing us in the direction of this thread. As we've already said before, threads about buggies and wheelchairs on buses are very emotive and often more robust. We ask that posters are respectful to others, even if they don't agree with their point of view.

If you feel we have missed any posts on this thread that break our guidelines then please do report them and we will take a look.

Retro, when you keep stating that some people can't fold do you accept that if they really can't fold they have to leave the bus?

They are intertwined because there are now safety issues from said law which will need need to be acknowledged.

Also there is now nowhere for buggies to go on buses.

I simply highlighted the two being fully entitled to do so.You made it into an issue.

Never once have I said I would have refused to try and fold just that at one stage it would have been impossible and quite dangerous.There are many buggy users older, less fit than me and with more children so clearly it would effect others.

Nobody is refusing to fold,some simply can't on a moving bus.

Again (and again), they won't have to fold on a moving bus if they fold before they get on. Not really rocket science.

So saying someones attitude is fucking disgusting is a personal attack?

It is an opinion based on her disablist posts.

But she is free to carry on and mustn't be challenged?

@AmberLeaf

Oh wow.

My post is deleted in less than two minutes, but the disablist ones were left to stand even after you [MNHQ] closed the thread and looked at it.

That says all I need to know about MNHQs commitment to This Is My Child.

We're looking at the thread from the bottom upwards, AmberLeaf. We can't delete threads we haven't reached yet so please bear with us.

We're going to lock this thread, again, to give us some time to go through it.

There NEVER was any where for buggies to go on a bus. Before WHEELCHAIR spaces were put in you folded before you got on the bus, you carried your DCs on, with the buggy and shopping. if you asked nicely there generally was someone that would help you.

Buggys can go on a bus unfolded only because people campaigned for years for wheelchair access.

Alice if you're already on with said buggy up you'd have to fold.Some mums couldn't fold before,hold 3 babies,pay and carry a buggy on unless there was mandatory help from the bus company.

Afternoon.

We've re-opened this thread.

We've had a good look and can see no posts which are bullying, please do flag any that we may have missed. We have deleted any posts which break our talk guidelines, but we don't consider 'What about me? What am I supposed to do?' as posts which break our talk guidelines or disablist.

As we've already said a couple of times before, threads about buggies and wheelchairs on buses are very emotive and often more robust. We ask that posters are respectful to others, even if they don't agree with their point of view.

We do welcome debate but there comes a point when we will delete a thread that has turned into a bun fight, whether there's 10 posts or 999. We're asking you to stick to our talk guidelines or we will delete this thread. In short, comment on the post, not the poster.

If you feel we have missed any posts on this thread that break our guidelines then please do report them and we will take a look.

Why are people still arguing?

The law says that service providers have to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people can use services. In the case of buses, that means providing a wheelchair space.

There is nothing in the law to protect babies in a pushchair.

It's simple. Get over it, or channel your energies into a campaign!

For some reason is seems disabled people have to justify their existence even though laws are in place.

I know Jaded.

The law may change but attitudes stay the same.

Still, good to know that there are many people out there who do appreciate the fight it took to get this little bit of provision, and who do respect it.

Also good to know that there are those out there who view people with disabilities with such contempt. It is useful to never forget this. What a shame that MN's 'This is my Child' campaign seems to have been MN paying lip service to the issue.

Today with DM we had to go to John Lewis to sort a refund out. I ended up getting the gentlemen to stop a lift after waiting 15minutes and no one noticing the mahoosive wheelchair waiting to board. A couple got on with their baby in pram we let them on first. The lift woudnt then move as it was too heavy. Who do you think ended up getting off because the others 'stood their ground' as it were? We came back out and ended up waiting longer. Just as another lift opened another lady with a pram cut in front of DM for said lift. I didn't need to say anything. Another member of the public turned to her and said "don't be so bloody rude!". I left them to it and told her to leave it. After pushing DM around complete with feedbag and medicines etc I was too fucking knackered for round two with someone who is too ignorant to reply "my baby has just as much right as the wheelchair". No no you fucking don't! There's laws in place stating otherwise! Re the safety aspect. Come off it! Unless you NEVER go in a Taxi etc without a seatbelt its not a valid argument!

I'm angry too, Jaded. I've taken my eye off the ball for a bit on disability issues as my Dad (the wheelchair user) passed away, and my mum is now far too disabled to use a bus or access public buildings. I've been designing and teaching disability awareness lessons at school, but I haven't been actively campaigning for a couple of years. I think it might be time for that to change. I'm fired up and I'm ever so pissed off.

And by seatbelt I mean carseats etc which aren't necessarily required in the Taxis covering our areas. It might not be the case in other areas but still.

Sorry to hear about your Dad Spikey :(

Been there MissPixie, with then 7 year old Ds2 wetting and soiling himself after people repeatedly barged in front of us for the lifts - people don't care about his dignity and that we face this stuff every day.

I too am very disappointed with MNHQ for TIMC. I very cynically had the feeling the SN community here would be used to make MNHQ look good and that nothing would come from it on a mn community level yet cooperated in the hope I'd be proven wrong.

I wasn't. It was all lip service with no substance. On a community level there are things said about people with disabilities that wouldn't be tolerated if it was about other protected characteristics. This quite simply isn't acceptable.

We do welcome debate but there comes a point when we will delete a thread that has turned into a bun fight, whether there's 10 posts or 999. We're asking you to stick to our talk guidelines or we will delete this thread. In short, comment on the post, not the poster

It isn't a bunfight. MNHQ tells people to do the whole 'educate' thing in response to these sort of threads, we do and some learn a thing or two because of our posts, which is great and makes posting worthwhile, but then some people still continue posting in willful ignorance, we carry on explaining things, but it does reach a point where you wonder if it is deliberate winding up. It is a big ask to expect people to not feel upset by some of the attitudes displayed on threads like these.

I also wonder what MNHQ is basing their judgement of whether or not something is disablist on?

For example;

but we don't consider 'What about me? What am I supposed to do?' as posts which break our talk guidelines or disablist

Someone who says the above once could be considered to have no experience of the issues/ignorant to the facts/asking for advice as to what to do. But if someone says those things and gets many replies explaining things and giving suggestions as to how to deal with those problems, but still carries on with the wah wah wah posts, at what point do you accept that it is either goading or not wanting to understand? To vociferously argue that you as an able bodied parent of able bodied children shouldn't have to show any consideration to people with disabilities is disablist. It just is and I don't understand how you think it isn't.

I have found the lukewarm, non committal response to this from MNHQ incongruent with the This Is My Campaign.

Tweet me Jaded if you think of anything