Pushchair, wheelchair and the bus driver - what the hell?

[TooSmittle]

On the bus this morning, my pushchair and a pram in the wheelchair space. A couple with a child in a wheelchair got on. The child got out and walked up the bus leaving the man with nowhere to put the wheelchair without folding it.

The baby in the other pram was only 3 weeks old (mine are 3 and 1) so I said I'd get off to make space. The whole bus seemed to errupt trying to make space for us and tutting about the wheelchair. The man did say he'd fold but I didn't want to add any inconvenience to his day and hopped off.

As it happened the next bus was literally right behind and about to go round my original bus but stopped as I put my arm out. I got on explaining that a wheelchair had just got on the other bus. He said "You got off because of the wheelchair? You dont have to do that you know, you should have just stayed on."

What??? I get that asking (forcing?) pushchairs to make way for wheelchairs is probably not a bus drivers favourite task, but actively encouraging people not to move? I'm not wrong that this is crazy, am I? If I let their head office know will they do anything?

Was on the bus and this couple got on with a prom. The bus was very full and lots of elderly on it so lots of musical chairs was needed to make room. Everyone was being very polite and moved. When I walked past them to get off the bus I noticed the pram had the rain cover down and was full of dolls! I had a good giggle to myself.

Also about folding wheelchairs, now I know they may well vary but ones I've come across are VERY easy to fold, just pull the bit up and it folds in half, can be done one handed so possibly easier to fold than a buggy.

*pull the chair bit

DD is a wheelchair user. We rarely have had problems on the buses here but last week she was with dh and waiting for a bus. The bus arrived with a pushchair in the wheelchair space. It was the only pushchair on the bus though there were children sitting on the fold down seats in the buggy space. The bus was quite full but there were other free seats.
The driver looked behind him, saw the pushchair, said 'No room' and drove off. So no attempt at all to get the pushchair to move. Fortunately dd didn't have long to wait for the next bus. She had just been to hydrotherapy and could easily have got very cold.
She emailed the company but so far has only had a standard 'it is being looked into' reply.

Wheelchairs do fold up easily if a standard chair which I’m assuming it was sine the girl using it could walk a little, motorised would be diddferent matter, but then I would’ve held the baby and folded my pushchair as I have done in the past. Still no need to make a martyr of yourself “ oh look at me I got off the bus I’m such a good person”

Sanoffyhighstepson
Genuinely interested in the safest way to park my buggy in your experience
Opposite side is standard soft board to back wheelchair into and drop down seat for whomever is with them

@SleepingStandingUp Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think that area is meant for wheelchairs or buggys. The chairs fold down to create standing room.

It isn't usable for wheelchairs but is signed as can be used for buggies
Given that you can get one wheelchair and one etecy buggy on the bus, this would be the only other permitted place

Safest without a crash cushion is facing you, brake on and a hand on it 🙂

Also, complaining to bus companies/drivers won't change anything. It was a judge who decided it was legal to put a pram in a disabled bay. Also judge who didn't make it illegal to not fold your pram if a wheelchair user needs the space. We wanted it made law that the bay was kept free. Shouting at us is like shouting at the sea. Nothing will change. It's the courts people need to be angry with

Wheelchair user always has priority.

What if the parent was on their last bus and couldn't fold the pushchair (I still find the last bit hard to believe, difficult to fold, yes, because mine took a foot and both hands and was a complete pain, but it was doable. But not fold at all?) but the person using a wheelchair had another one they could catch 10 minutes later? Maybe unlikely in London/large cities, possible in other places.

Wheelchair user still has priority. It's a wheelchair space.

If you have a newborn or very young baby I don't think there are many (any?) pushchairs which can fold easily whilst adequately supporting the newborn's head and neck unless there are two pairs of hands.

I completely agree wheelchair users have even fewer transport options and should get priority but I find it hard to justify booting off someone with a young baby instead of making buses more accessible for all.

Removing more seats isn't viable. It's like airlines making obese people buy 2 seats instead of less seats but larger. The cost to the fewer people we could carry ( a buggy space is 4 seats gone ) would be huge, really. We are private companies and need to make money to run. Losing more seats means fewer passengers

As a disabled parent i had to choose a. (double) buggy that could double as a walker, fit a buggy board and be pushable one handed, so no i didn't have a huge amount of choice. The downside was it was huge when folded and i couldn't physically fold it. All my dc also have disabilities.

Wheelchair should have priority over a buggy, my problem is I use a four wheeled walker that has a seat, it does fold a bit, some drivers where I am have told me I have to fold it, lift it into a tiny space, while holding my bag/shopping then walk to back of bus then climb a step just so a buggy can get on despite me being on first! Surely I still have priority over a buggy? And this isn't when I'm in the wheelchair space which usually already has a pram in it! Did complain but was told driver was right and the buggy had priority over me 🙄😡

Removing more seats isn't viable. It's like airlines making obese people buy 2 seats instead of less seats but larger. The cost to the fewer people we could carry ( a buggy space is 4 seats gone ) would be huge, really. We are private companies and need to make money to run. Losing more seats means fewer passengers

I don't see why it isn't viable. Most people don't need a seat on a bus so you wouldn't need to reduce the number of people you can carry.

For example, say a bus has 50 seats, 1 wheelchair space and 1 pushchair space. 50-54 people can get on board.

If that same bus converted to be half standing room, 12 seats, 2 wheelchair spaces and 3 pushchair spaces you would still fit around 50-54 people on board.

Anyway, YWNBU OP. Even if the wheelchair could have been folded, the 2nd bus driver who told you that you shouldn't have got off didn't know that the wheelchair user had got out of their wheelchair. So there's no way they should have said that.

@manicinsomniac That really isn't viable because people like me have a 1hr45min commute each way on the bus. I really wouldn't want to stand up on a bus for this amount of time.