Bus priority seats

[Bisquick]

On a mostly empty evening bus home. The front seats are mostly taken, there’s one priority seat free but a lady is sitting on the aisle seat. I ask her if she’d mind if I squeezed past her to sit down and she points to the priority sticker and asks “which one are you”. There isn’t anyone else visibly needing a priority seat on the bus.
I rolled my eyes and sat elsewhere but am irrationally annoyed.
It really isn’t any of her business what priority category I am. If no one needs the seat who is she to police whether someone sits there or not?
FWIW I’m clearly a brown immigrant and she was a white OAP and there was a lot of explaining using her “slow” voice which probably grated.

The seats on public transport in my area usually say something about offering up the seat if an infirm or disabled person needs it. What did the accompanying sign say?

Your only mistake was not putting her in her place but I can see it may not have felt worth it.

If there's a "not all disabilities are visible" sticker and I get challenged for using accessible seats/toilets etc., I helpfully say something like "I'm one of the people who campaigned for that sticker due to ignorant people like you"

I would have asked which one she was

It says “Priority Seat. For people who are disabled, pregnant or less able to stand.”

I interpret that always as one should give it up if it appears that someone else wants it, and I always do if I see someone who does want it.

In the next stop she gave up and moved over to allow a lady of colour (who looks a few years older than me perhaps) to sit down. Not sure what about me warranted the lecture.

Anyone can sit in a priority seat on the understanding that you have to give it up if someone else needs it.

Anyway, doesn’t seem like it was a race driven thing. I’ll get over my annoyance. It’s been a long week and I’ve only got a mild pain in my ankle.. I did walk a few rows up and sit down. Just one of those things.

This is the reason I always take my walking stick when I have to get the bus or tube. I have some days when I could probably manage without, but I can't stand for long and I don't have the energy to argue with people.
My stick is a bog standard nhs one, but maybe just buying one would make your life a bit easier?

If the bus was mostly empty, why did you want to sit on the inside seat of a priority seat? I think the lady to be quite rude to speak to you as she did, however I would find it quite odd if someone asked to squeeze past me to sit next to me on an empty bus

It was mostly empty on the back, but you have to walk up a stair or two. This was the only front seat that was empty.

Did you need a priority seat?

You have a mild ankle pain? What?

It’s not up to that lady to police who sits where. How on earth can the op be unreasonable in this instance?

Even if you didn’t meet the ‘criteria’ of a priority seat as long as you offered it to someone who did then it’s no issue. You don’t have to justify yourself to anyone.

Honestly I’d be pretty annoyed if on an almost empty bus someone wanted me to get up and let them sit down, just walk the two paces and sit further down

Obviously if it was busy I’d see your point but I think she just didn’t wanna give you the seat, nothing to do with race

Perhaps she talks slow normally. Bit odd for you to bring race into it.

But it isn't her seat to give or not give. That's the point. Op didn't ask her to stand, she asked her to let her sit in tbe free seat that no one was sitting in and that op was entitled to sit in

But it isn't her seat to give or not give. That's the point. Op didn't ask her to stand, she asked her to let her sit in tbe free seat that no one was sitting in and that op was entitled to sit in

No it wasn't the oaps seat to give and she shouldn't have asked which one are you.....but if is a bit odd to try and squeeze past someone to get to that seat when there were other empty seats and she only had mild ankle pain.

@origamiunicorn?

Oops pic hadn't loaded, it has now lol

Tabby weird or not, it doesn't matter. She had no idea why OP wanted to sit there, and she clearly was trying to. Hinilate her by asking her which one she was. Why should anyone have to tell a random Seat Giardian why thry want to sit in an empty seat?

Fgs just leave the priority seats alone. I’m disabled. I have a disabled badge. It’s not written on my forehead and I don’t look disabled. I am too ill most of the time to use transport. But you clearly don’t need priority seating. Christ I would love just to have a little ankle pain.

Can you really not understand that some people don’t want to ask for you to move from the priority seating? It’s upsetting for them and it’s patronising of you to expect them to do it.

Not only do poor fuckers have a disability but they have to use their perhaps limited energy and be faced with people with no qualifications in occupational therapy deciding whether or not they should change seats to accommodate them when the seats should just be vacant in the first place.

I'm inclined to agree with @Armadilloboss and @ShirleyPhallus.

Not really clear from your posts why you needed to push pass someone to sit next to them on a mostly empty evening bus home

SleepingStandingUp

"Tabby weird or not, it doesn't matter. She had no idea why OP wanted to sit there, and she clearly was trying to. Hinilate her by asking her which one she was. Why should anyone have to tell a random Seat Giardian why thry want to sit in an empty seat?"

I did say she shouldn't have asked and it wasn't her seat to give. It was weird though...bit like people who come and sit right next to you in an empty restaurant.

Just to clarify - on the lower floor of our buses there are 8 seats at the entry level, and then you walk up one or two steps to get to another say 16 seats. The seats that were one or two steps up were maybe 20% occupied.

When I got on the bus the seats at the entry level were almost empty, but I waited in case anyone needing a priority seat got on and wanted to take them. Many people got on and took those seats. The last one remaining was next to this lady. I just wanted to sit there, on an empty seat, rather than walk up while the bus was moving since it had started moving now.

I didn’t ask her to move in because I don’t know when she is getting off and if that may be uncomfortable for her, so I just asked to sit on that seat. And she responded by asking me what category I belonged to.

Whether I did belong or not surely it’s absolutely none of her business? And I’m not saying my mild ankle pain or anything really trumps anyone else’s circumstances. If someone got on who wanted the seat or looked like they may I’d have offered to get up. It just seemed unnecessarily rude to police my occupancy of that seat.

Also I’m sorry for saying it was a “mostly empty bus”. I’ve clarified above what I meant.