Wheelchair / buggy on bus

[MoonlightMistletoe]

Today I had got the bus with my sister we both have children I had my toddler who was walking and my one year old who's only just started to walk who is still in a buggy, my sister has a 12week old baby who was also in a buggy.

We had got on the bus as you do and the next stop another parent got on with their buggy, a few stops later we stop and straight away a woman is screaming/shouting at the rear doors with her phone in our faces demanding we collapse our buggies, very angry , shouting at us with buggies and also at the driver. The driver is telling us to stay put due to her being aggressive and recording us. Someone on the bus was telling us to co operate with the woman who wanted to get a person on the bus who was in a wheelchair. We know disabled people are a priority and had absolutely not said we wouldn't put the buggies down, I was taking my sleeping one year out the buggy while this woman was still swearing and being nasty and recording us, I had given my baby to my sister to sit with my toddler and herself while I was about to take her baby out the pram then all of a sudden everyone made a "ohhhhhhh" gasp and the disabled man has fallen down the side of the curb and bus sideways in his wheelchair.

She then looses her absolute shit at us for her own mistakes being so caught up in recording us to make sure we move that the man is now probably injured.

AIBU to think all she had to do was say excuse me can we move the buggies so I can get the wheelchair on?

it is very dispiriting. and exhausting.. and worrying if you are with someone who has to stay out in the cold, bus after bus, a person who is already frail, disabled, extra vulnerable

I’m sure - I’ve had the same experience every time I’ve tried to get my twins on a bus, record was six buses going past before we could fit on one (fortunately a stop with multiple routes). It really is worrying especially at this time of year as the cold weather can crash DT2’s blood sugars super fast and he can get really unwell, and it’s not easy to treat a toddler with a hypo on a bus!

The ones that really drive me insane are the parents who have a buggy which was carrying a kid of 5 or so who’s out of the buggy sitting in a seat but the buggy is still up and full of bags. I know it’s a pain in the arse to collapse it but it still bloody annoying when you can barely fit on or can’t fit on at all.

Apparently it's the buggy owners fault for him falling, when I know it's her fault for having too much screen time!

What are you talking about?

Sorry I’m confused. Are you saying they didn’t get on the bus?

@SinkGirl I also have that problem while getting my eldest to school. I use a double buggy however in the mornings I have to miss 2/3 sometimes 4 trams because they are packed with people literally nose to nose. The afternoons aren't bad though plenty of space for all.

No they did not get on the bus because the driver wasn't letting her on for being abusive!

Sinkgirls dcs are disabled.

No they didn’t get on the bus
I’d be complaining about the driver. I think you should consider doing the same. Imo the person was abusive as a result of her and her clients treatment - possibly this specific driver or a succession of drivers - not the other way round.

@MoonlightMistletoe, don’t compare yourself to @SinkGirl. Your children will grow out of their buggies. Hers may not. She has two disabled children. Try and have some sensitivity.

@SinkGirl @Mummyoflittledragon sorry sinkgirl I didn't see your previous post, I find it cold and annoying so I can't imagine how frustrating that must be for you. The point I'm making is I'm not a person who takes the piss I do wait in the cold to make sure people who have a priority get on before me.

Tbf I understand what Church is saying. It's not fair force parents to potentially put their children in harm's way or risk missing vital doctors appointments. That being said, it is completely unreasonable for a wheelchair user to be denied a space on a bus purely because they are in a wheelchair and therefore "don't fit".
Unfortunately it sometimes is an "either or" situation. And since being a parent of a young child is a) and choice and b) temporary then yes, they do need to do everything in their power to make space for the wheelchair user to get on or, alternatively, get off the bus. Our buses are not ideal, but they are, I think, the best compromise available. All the buses round here are very similar to the stagecoach bus pic posted below so space for 2/3 buggies and one wheelchair. There does also need to be plenty of seating space for those who need it and, of course, seating available to attract people onto the buses to help cut down on air pollution. If buses turn into giant pushchair and wheelchair user transport vehicles with a standing 'pen' for everyone else, no one would use them.

@gingersausage I do apologise I didn't see the previous post I'm definitely arnt being insensitive intentionally! Trying to catch up on the thread.

The thing is parents don't have to miss appointments or get off tne bus to make room, all they need to do is fold the buggy.

The problem with multiple private companies is despite legislation there is no universal policy on how to implement it and people don't know where they stand. Universal policies on how situations where a buggy is in the space and a wheelchair is waiting to get on, storage of folded buggies and forwarding tickets would help.

And yes some drivers are wankers, I'm guessing pressure to complete routes in unrealistic times is a factor. I used to get this route to work where the drivers seemed to really resent stopping to let people on and off.

The ones that really drive me insane are the parents who have a buggy which was carrying a kid of 5 or so who’s out of the buggy sitting in a seat I have actually asked a driver if he expects me to not get on when the pushchair is empty. He got up, called the Mom down from UPSTAIRS and we all waited whilst she huffily collapsed it.

@Mummyoflittledragon I definitely do feel he is also somewhat at fault he opened the doors and all I heard and saw was this woman's outburst, caused a scene and that's when he said not to move even though I still was and by that time the incident happened he drove away. Which at the next stop he stopped and said "I know this woman she causes trouble all the time" so I think she clearly is frustrated and they are getting treated wrongly but it does not excuse her from being abusive towards the people who are trying to do the right thing because clearly her angry attitude isn't helping them.

@MoonlightMistletoe ok no worries 😊.

I just don't get it. When myou oldest was first in a buggy pre the spaces you saw alot more parents snd toddlers on tne bus with lots more buggy all folded. No one ever got off. I'm puzzled why now a days people seem to think buses can only carry 2 or at most 3 or they have to get off and wait. It's truely bizarre.

@my2bundles but you can't always fold up the buggy if, for example, the bus is full and you've no where to put it and hold your child. Where I grew up we had one bus an hour into town (where the hospital was) so my mam always made us catch the earlier bus "just incase" which was fine, except when you couldnt get on either bus and ended up missing an appointment. Sometimes getting off the bus is the only option, but it is what it is.

She didn’t even give you fucking chance

I’m like you, I would always move for a wheelchair user, but people like that Carer really make my blood boil. She should be arrested the fucking loon.

@MoonlightMistletoe if the woman hadnt got on the bus screaming the man in the wheelchair would not have fallen.

I just hope that man was alright and wasnt injured.Pity you cant report her to someone.

Bianca in that case that's fair enough. What I mean is nowadays if there's no buggy spaces some people just don't fold and assume their only option is to wait when in reality it's a half empty bus.

Dustarr
More likely she is fed up of bus drivers not giving a shit about her and her client. I don’t think she is the one, who necessarily needs reporting.

Don’t worry, I know what you meant OP - doubles and buses are a pain in the arse at the best of times.

To the PP who asked (sorry, can’t find the post now) - it’s a bit of a grey area, because they’re in a regular buggy and to anyone looking they look just like any other toddlers in a double buggy. I’ll definitely get one of the signs ginger posted above (thanks ginger!) but I doubt a driver would see it and stop when a bus is full rather than just driving past. If they did let us on and tell other people to get off because of a sign, I can imagine the uproar and would feel really uncomfortable.

For most things it’s massively convenient that my twins still fit in a regular double buggy so we don’t have to worry about specialist chairs at this point, but this is one area it’s tricky (but then double special chairs are whopping so they’d come with their own bus related issues).

I’ve seen people here say why should they fold their buggy on the off chance a wheelchair user will get on since they rarely see one, but actually by keeping up the buggy when you are able to fold it, you’re also preventing other parents from being able to get on, including those in my situation who can’t take their kids out of the buggy.

As a wheelchair user and going by a couple of your posts I would say the driver never lets her on if there’s buggys on (probably waved her away as the bus pulled up) which is why she was shouting and filming it. If the driver had said to fold instead of telling people not to it probably wouldn’t have got that bad. She no doubt recognised the driver the same as he recognised her and knew he wouldn’t let her on

I've actually seen this happen a couple of times in London. Some bus drivers are absolute bastards.