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 )

She was always aware when I stated “ well wheelchairs have priority “ I made it very clear

The woman was very wrong then. people are very selfish. complain to tfl, ive found them helpful in the past.

YWNBU and almost that exact situation happened to me the other day, except I was the buggy user already on the bus. Ofc I folded immediately to let the wheelchair user in the space. However the second lady insisted on getting on with her double buggy unfolded. Stupid, and rude!

It doesn't matter why the person with the buggy is travelling. They can fold it up and everyone can fit.

You can't fold up a wheelchair or specially adapted stroller because the person with the disability actively needs it.

If you have a disability such that you can't fold a stroller or use a sling for a few minutes then you need to ask for help. Wheelchairs and special strollers used as wheelchairs always have priority. If you just don't know how to use a sling then you can Google it and practise at home first.

So a wheelchair user going to do their shopping or a parent and child in wheelchair going to the cinema should take priority over a parent taking their baby to a hospital appt, urgent care centre, doctors?

Yes they should.

A parent can make a choice in how they transport their baby. If they know they will be using public transport they should plan appropriately.

Someone who needs a wheelchair gets no Choice. No choice in needing a chair and normally no choice in the type of chair. It’s what they need.

On a bus the only space that wheelchair user can safely travel is the space allocated for wheelchairs so to right they get priority over anyone not using a wheelchair to use that spec!

So a wheelchair user going to do their shopping or a parent and child in wheelchair going to the cinema should take priority over a parent taking their baby to a hospital appt, urgent care centre, doctors?

Yes because we're bloody lucky we don't have a disability and should show a little understanding and compassion for those who do. It's tough enough as it is without dealing with stupid people who could probably walk.

And the law states the wheelchair user has priority over other users.

A specialist buggy look nothing like a normal stroller.

If parent on a bus can't fold pushchair and handle baby, driver or other passengers should assist them. I think some people have a bizarre grasp of what being "truely inclusive" means.

If current provision for parents travelling with babies and prams is inadequate then the solution is to campaign for better provision not insist disabled passengers give up their provision in some arbitrary game of "my needs trump your's today"

So a wheelchair user going to do their shopping or a parent and child in wheelchair going to the cinema should take priority over a parent taking their baby to a hospital appt, urgent care centre, doctors?

Yes, You do not get priority. Wheelchair users are already at a massive disadvantage physically compared with a selfentitled parent who thinks their kid should come above everyone else just because they have an "appointment" somewhere.

I don't think its just the bus driver you should be addressing yoru anger at but those in the push chairs. If i'd have been at that bus stop, I would have made sure you got on first FFS!

Surely a child with a load of medical equipment trumps your need to not flatten a push chair. Our world has become so selfish.

I'm glad you got on but I'd point out the selfish bastards that didn't even offer to collapse their buggies for you.

Absolutely agree people should help! Having been both the person in the wheelchair and the mum with a pushchair who can't fold it up. But I also think.it shouldn't be left to chance of nice people being there; the bus driver should be trained/insured/allowed/expected to help!

Some people are so self centred. Ive been in this kind of situation. My 2 year old is autistic. No special pram or anything but the crowds on public transport bothrr him a great deal. He has to have headphones on and listen to his micheal Jackson . Ive been made to wait for the next bus as an entitled mum with a child at least 4 years old in an umbrella fold pram wouldn't take her child out and make room for us. Just glared at ne whilst ignoring her child and talking on the phone. Had to wait 25 minutes for the next one. Most definitely complain.

When my DC were little you had to fold your buggy on buses. You soon become adept at doing it with one hand while juggling baby and bags !

WTF. What kind of person barges in front of a wheelchair? Well actually the answer to that is pretty obvious. Stroller lady had no excuse. She could have folded at the bus stop. It wasn't exactly a surprise to her that a wheelchair needed to go in the space when she was waiting right next to you. I'm sorry you had to deal with the extra stress OP. It's probably the last thing you needed.

what a rubbish stressful situation OP. When I am a passenger (no buggy here anymore) I will always say something if I see this type of thing happening. I will never forget the support I got from one person on the bus when I had a tricky buggy (and not even a chair!) situation. All busses will have cameras on drivers- so bus company should be able to follow up. The other buggy users should have done what they are supposed to do and get off or fold their buggies.

I think if you get on a bus with a buggy you have to accept the risk of being kicked off. I would only get a bus with DD in a sling as I wouldn't want to get stuck somewhere with a baby.

I can never understand how some people think they have priority over a wheelchair space than the users it is actually made for. People can be vile. On the bus route I use regularly with ds in his buggy there's a man who needs to use a wheelchair and his wife who need to use the bus at least twice a week. The first time I encountered them they were resigned to needing to go and find something else to do while they waited 2 hours for the next bus. Of course I was going to take ds out of the pushchair and fold it up but I couldn't get over how shocked they were when I told them so. Then when the bus arrived a woman with a double buggy barged in front of both of us to nab the space and refused to take her 4 and 2 year old out to fold. Luckily the driver refused to move until she got off but shocking behaviour.

You’re being unreasonable by blaming this on the driver. The only idiots here are the other parents that didn’t want to make room for you/your daughter and would rather see you wait outside for the next bus - why isn’t your anger directed at them? They’re the ones that looked at your daughter’s medical equipment and thought ‘fuck that, I was here first and I’m not moving for them’. Frankly they showed you the most disrespect and disregard of your daughter, not the driver.

The bus driver isn’t the judge, jury and executioner, he doesn’t actually have much power. If passengers refuse to make room for you and aren’t cooperative, what can the driver actually physically do after telling them to make room? Stop the bus and refuse to move until they get off? Call the police? Neither of those options are realistically viable as at the end of it all, the driver still has his job to do and by delaying the bus to deal with silly pushchair parents, he will be late for all of his other bus routes for the day and all other passengers will be angry that they’re now late for work. That’s why he was annoyed - because it’s a petty thing to get involved in and shouldn’t require his input when he should be focusing on driving.

The bus driver could have, and should have, refused to move the bus until they had made space.

I got on a bus with ds in his wheelchair last year. A woman with a pram refused to move so the bus driver refused to move.

Bus drivers do have a duty of care towards their passengers. That said a lot of drivers seem to really resent having to stop for passengers at all let alone those with extra needs.

I had someone barge in front of us when ds was about 8 and in an sn buggy. We had already not got on one bus because there were toddler buggies in front of us in the queue. As we were getting on the next one someone came from behind us and got on on the other side of the entrance. They took the toddler out but refused to fold because of bags on the buggy.
We had to squeeze ds in sideways which meant his buggy was half blocking the aisle.

You don’t need a car seat for a taxi

You do if you have twins - I can’t hold two babies / toddlers safely in a car without a car seat. I can’t drive due to my own health so if I have to get my son to the hospital then the bus is my only option. Nobody would know that he’s visually impaired and has other disabilities that can need swift treatment during a journey as they’re little and just in a regular double buggy.

I’m just saying it’s not always as clear cut as people think.