This is not a thread about who has priority over the wheelchair space at the front of the bus
This afternoon I was on the bus with my DC. Youngest was in the pushchair in the space at the front of the bus. A wheelchair user needed to board the bus and the driver, not at all prompted by me, said to her that a pushchair was in the space but there was a bus five minutes behind going to the same destination and could she wait for that one. Woman began shouting that she has a right to the space, that its a wheelchair space not a pushchair space. The shouting was unnecessary especially considering it was the driver who had asked her to wait and not me.
I said to the driver I'd fold the pushchair, not a problem at all and there was no need to have asked her to wait for the next bus. Driver told me no, i couldn't fold it because there was no luggage storage so me and the DC would have to leave the bus. I asked for a forwarding ticket and was told that they don't give them.
DC and I were ordered off the bus in an area I don't know very well. There was a bus five minutes behind I hear you say? Yes. There was. Except I only had £2 in my purse as I'd used the cash I did have to pay for our tickets on the first bus so I could afford to get on that bus.
I had to walk until I found a cash point. In this time my other DC (sensory problems, ASD) had a huge meltdown about being put off the bus then a meltdown about needing a wee because I didn't know where there was a toilet and we had to go looking for somewhere anywhere and he won't simply wee behind an emergency tree. He ended up pissing himself so when I did eventually find a cash point, wait for another bus (with his jacket wrapped around him to hide his shame) and get to our destination I also had to go and buy him a whole new outfit.
AIBU to complain about the driver putting us off the bus in an unfamiliar area with no forwarding ticket potentially leaving us stranded? I had my bank card but could just as easily left it at home if I was going somewhere that didn't require me to have money with me or the nearest cash point could have been miles away as the bus passes through several semi-final areas along it's route. At the very least they should be offering forwarding tickets, shouldn't they?