Was I out of order or bus driver

[Alwaysbekind2014]

DD age 5, has mutiple disabilities including organ failures she has a special chair although she can walk is mobile for short periods of time. However she is attached to IV bags for 16 hours.
This morning we had a hospital appointment but we had to take her attached to things as nothing has finished yet.
So at the bus stop there is 1 stroller and is with daughter in chair.
Bus arrives and I needed to get on it there was no way we could of waited. The stroller managed to get on first but as she was getting on I did shout over to driver there’s a wheelchair, as there was another stroller already on. He didn’t care and then once I got to door I asked if we could get on, he said only if we didn’t block the aisle which we would of as at this point the lady had parked by the other stroller and wasn’t moving.
This is a London bus that clearly states pushchairs much make room for wheelchairs and they have priority.
Anyway so he shut the doors and I took a photo of the front of the bus.
He then re opened the doors and told us to get on and asked the strollers to make room he then shouted and slammed his door to his seat area on front of my 5 year old that it’s a pushchair and it isn’t my job.
In the end the aisle was blocked and I stood with chair by bars holding on. ( visible equipment attached to the back )

Ywnbu

Bus driver was BU - you were a priority passenger. Really one of the pushchair owners should have folded to let you on and the bus driver should have supported you by (politely) requesting this. What a nightmare. I hope you got to the hospital on time and unscathed.

The people with the pushchairs should have had the sense to shift. The bus driver was probably pissed off at having to force stupid passengers to behave properly. I suppose it is part of his job to manage the loading of passengers, but it must be difficult for him when passengers are so dim. I wouldn't complain about him.

Of course you're not being unreasonable. Complain to the bus company so they can educate their drivers and prevent this happening.

Hugs to your daughter.

Let the bus company know in a public way. Driver behaviour isn't going to change until it becomes as socially unacceptable as other forms of overt discrimination.

Jesus just what you need - bus wars. What was the parent with the pushchair doing? Averting their eyes? I think I might I lost my tag a bit with pushchair parent actually.... I’m not sure I would have the tolerance to do what you did.

He should have asked the pushchair-owners to fold them, and they should have had the bloody common sense/decency to do it themselves when they saw you were struggling to get on. Selfish gits the lot of them.

When you have got home safely and have both warmed up and calmed down I would continue with the idea you had when taking that picture.

Report the incident to the bus company. The more reports they get of drivers and passengers ignoring the 'rules to ride' the more they will have to do to ensure that wheelchair users are accorded priority.

Oops. Rag. Lost my rag.

The woman with the pram who got on was the most unreasonable!

Good on you for standing up and making sure you weren’t left behind. I would still send the photo and complain!

The ignorance of others is why I am pleased I don’t need to use public transport much with ds

The bus driver and the people with strollers were all unreasonable. Your daughter's chair is not a standard buggy, it has been adapted to meet her disabilities. So she (and you) had priority for the wheelchair space.

This was the issue if he had politely asked them to move, then i understand but he didn’t haha he didn’t even attempt to ask the lady to make room for us. He just shouted at me saying her wheelchair looks like a big over sized pushchair ( but her medical equipment was clearly attached )

Yes report the driver - you don’t need shit like that.

but it must be difficult for him

He didn't seem to have any problem being a stroppy c*nt with the OP so I don't see why it would have been a challenge for him to ask the pushchair passenger to make room.

Bus driver was clearly unreasonable. You clearly had a medical need for a wheelchair so the stroller was equivalent to one in this case. I'm surprised one of the people with stroller didn't automatically offer to either fold it or wait for the next bus.

Well fair enough, if he was shouting at you you should let his employer know he was aggressive.

The passengers with the strollers were being unreasonable not the bus driver

Ha I was shaking with anger the other passenger just kept saying I was here first I was here. She made no attempt to move the other one who was already on did attempt to move over to the side more.

Bus driver was a dick. Buggy owners were dicks. Poor you, what a day. Definitely complain, it's really easy and they do give the drivers a bollocking. He should get a major one for this.

There's a usually board above the wheelchair area with the bus's number plate on it, plus the electronic board with time and date and stop. If you photograph that it's all you need and you can email it to them later.

https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/contact-us-about-buses



What is fucking wrong with people! When DS was born 14 years ago we lived in London. When he was really little I carried him in a sling and as he got older I made sure when had a lightweight pushchair that I could fold with one arm and put in baggage area. Far too many entitled mums about. Y most definitely were NBU OP both the bus driver and the pushchair mums were. I swear this should be in the bus driver training ...maybe it is and they just don't care!

YWNBU. The bus driver was a dick but I also think it's crazy that they need to enforce the rule in the first place. The passenger should do the decent thing. The woman with stroller was a fucking bitch.

The pushchair parents should be strung up.

I'm sure asking/telling passengers with buggies to make space for wheelchair (incl adapted buggies) users, and making sure that happens, must be one of the crappiest parts of his job. But it IS part of his job and he needs to do it, not mouth off to the wheelchair user. Definitely report him.

The two with the strollers were also being dicks but there's not a huge amount you can do about them. (The driver could and should have done a lot about them, though.)

I'm surprised the lady with the stroller at the bus stop didn't let you get on the bus first!

Bus driver was unreasonable, it absolutely is his job to ensure that the rules of the bus are being adhered to. I'm sure he'd get up and complain if someone started smoking on the bus so why shouldn't he chime in when strollers aren't giving way to wheelchairs?

He was being unreasonable and he knows it- he must do. Definitely complain to the bus company. This shouldn’t be happening to people with disabilities in 2018. Wheelchairs get priority (or are meant to) for a reason.