AIBU to expect to be a priority getting on a bus in a wheelchair

[Worrysaboutalot]

I am going to start using buses whilst in my power chair.

Apart from wondering how I will physically be able to get on to the bus, I would like to know what is the law regarding prams and wheelchairs.

Do I have priority over a pram or not ?

Can I insist that a pram is folded, so I can get on?

There is only 1 bus every 2 hours between my village and the shopping centre, so I really can't risk being stranded there. On other hand I need to get out of the house too.

Any advice welcome. I am in the North West if that makes any difference.

Op you shouldn't have to do this of course but you said you are entitled to a mobility car ?even if you don't drive somebody else can be a named driver ,whilst I agree you absolutely have priority as we can see from this thread clearly some people just don't get it ,My son gets HRM under SMI rules we have recently got a mobility car best thing we ever did you literally just have to put petrol in everything else is covered .

I had two born a year apart so couldn’t buy a cheap foldable buggy (and before any suggest I had a cheap buggy and a sling I tried that and it was horrendous I could never quite get on with slings) so not everyone can easily fold, so I just get off, luckily I’m in London so the next bus is never that long. Would have been awful in the middle of nowhere

"I do however wonder how people with invisible disabilities, mental health issues, people with chronic diseases (including mothers), people who need to get somewhere urgently, people who are heading to a medical appointment, can protect their rights. It’s always all or nothing."

1. All these other people can sit on a standard seat.

1. I also have a chronic bowel condition, invisible hearing issues and several auto immune conditions. But these things would not stop me sitting in a standard seat. Only my recent rare neurological condition which led to permanent nerve damage in my legs and arms, means I need a wheelchair and hence a wheelchair space.

Indeed my son has severe autism and learning disabilities not that hidden tbh ,whilst he has a blue badge and mobility car there is no reason why we need to take the wheel chair space in the bus as he's perfectly able to sit in a regular seat .

@x2boys

Op you shouldn't have to do this of course but you said you are entitled to a mobility car ?even if you don't drive somebody else can be a named driver ,whilst I agree you absolutely have priority as we can see from this thread clearly some people just don't get it ,My son gets HRM under SMI rules we have recently got a mobility car best thing we ever did you literally just have to put petrol in everything else is covered .

That is what I am hoping to do. Just posted my driving assessment which says what hand adaptions I need.

I really hope DVLA will give me a medical license rather than take my license off me all together.

Independence is so precious and I can't even get out of my house on my own atm
I have to wait until my DH is on his lunch break and he will carry my chair over the front door threshold and help me out.

Aso awaiting a new front door with a low threshold.

Pearsapiece

What makes it okay for you to kick a mother off the bus with her child in the pissing down rain, having already established her place on the bus and paid for her ticket, leaving her stranded with a baby she may not have enough supplies for to last between buses or through the walk?

In this melodramatic picture you paint you are forgetting that all this mother has to do is FOLD HER PUSH CHAIR.

Parents (of both sexes ) need to be mindful of the law and be prepared on the bus and take a foldable buggy.

I'm so glad I drive and live in an area where driving/parking is easy.
I've got a 13 week old and a 21 month old. It would be impossible for me to take them both out of the buggy and take it apart. Also, then there would be three massive parts: the frame, the pushchair bit and the bassinet. I couldn't hold onto them both safely on the bus either. That's before we take I to account the massive change bag and raincovers etc.
I totally agree with protected spaces for wheelchairs, but I think buses should also have spaces for prams.
What if someone is taking their children to a doctor's appt for jabs or something and they have to get off and wait an hour for another bus?

I know that wheelchair vs buggy is a common thread on here, but had a hypothetical situation that im not sure about...

What would happen if the bus was at capacity of standing people (normally theres somewhere that states x amount if standing passangers, or x amount + wheelchair user, with amount with wheelchair lower) and a wheelchair user wanted on? What would take priority? Would the wheelchair user have to wait for the next bus like a non wheelchair user would have to if faced with a full bus, or would driver ask 5 or 6 people to get off the bus to let the wheelchair user on?

@Worrysaboutalot
I meant people with these conditions, who are also using a buggy. I think I will have to leave it at that. I don’t want to sound like I don’t respect your rights. Because I never refused to follow the rules or denied someone their rights. I however also have an autoimmune condition (now in remission) and was forced to attend appointments with my babies (no childcare) and to use a public transport to get there. I do realise I’m lucky to be able to walk though. Good luck with your travels.

Hopefully they will ,I was very impressed with the motabillity service we were lucky as my son doesn't need adaptions and we got the car under two weeks but there's loads of choice you need to have a good look round as there can be some great deals.

In my experience also the buggy that is folded takes almost as much space as unfolded
Maybe - but it can be in the luggage area. Or between other sets (esp with social distancing) It doesn't have to be in the wheelchair space.

Unfortunately, not everyone has money to buy an easily foldable buggy or a ring sling.

The vast majority of people on a bus with a buggy made the choice to buy the buggy that they have.

The problem is that people are so used to not having to fold their buggy on the bus they don't take it into account when buying their pram and then buy a tank size pram that doesn't fold in one piece

Piwlyfbicsly Thank you for sending me good luck. I need it at the moment. I hope your immune conditions are under control, now and in the future.

Jeez. the 'Whatiffery' on this thread.

The law is the law.

Deal with your own issues elsewhere.

@Liverbird77

I'm so glad I drive and live in an area where driving/parking is easy. I've got a 13 week old and a 21 month old. It would be impossible for me to take them both out of the buggy and take it apart. Also, then there would be three massive parts: the frame, the pushchair bit and the bassinet. I couldn't hold onto them both safely on the bus either. That's before we take I to account the massive change bag and raincovers etc. I totally agree with protected spaces for wheelchairs, but I think buses should also have spaces for prams. What if someone is taking their children to a doctor's appt for jabs or something and they have to get off and wait an hour for another bus?

If you were a regular bus user then presumably you wouldn't have bought a pram that folds in three parts.

When my girls were tiny and I used the bus they had the smallest and lightest double that I could afford.

If people want more pram spaces on buses they should campaign for that, like disabled people had to do to get wheelchair spaces.

@FallonCarringtonWannabe

My colleague is disabled and has a blue badge and a mobility car. She has mobility issues, but doesn't need a wheelchair... yet.

HOWEVER, she most certainly couldn't fold her baby’s buggy, whilst holding a baby, and keep herself and baby safe on a bus on a country road. Thank goodness for the car.

Winner of the whatiffery award goes to....

Seriously... your friend does not need an accessible space as she has a car and can drive her baby wherever she wants to go. In what way is her situation relevant?

On a practical note, having lived in a village with an infrequent bus service, make sure you turn up early! I have missed the bus several times because it turned up ahead of schedule and didn't wait.

@Honeyandapple

Hopefully this hypothetical mother would wait 2 hours get on the next bus and buy a foldable buggy and therefore never be in the same situation again.

You sound quite horrible OP.
Does the baby not matter at all?

No wishing of luck here, disability or not.

The hypothetical baby would be with their mother. They would be just fine. Babies do not care where they are, are long as they are with a good caregiver.

Plus I WAS that mother with 3 kids under 5 on the bus and I would never of inconvenienced a disabled person.

So a few years on and a neurological condition turns up. I am horrible as I am hoping that the wheelchair space would be prioritised for an actual wheelchair user.

I am same person. I am still that mother. I would do the right thing and other mothers should do too

Fink Yes, turn up early at bus stop. Will do. Sensible advice.

Well North Wedt is back in Tier three. I wonder if the cinema will close again :(

No one can give you total reassurance, there might be someone else with a wheelchair already on board, in which case they won't be asked to get off so you can get on. If it's prams then the bus driver should enforce that they need to folded, and if they're not willing to they should be asked/told to vacate the bus; not always the case unfortunately although legally and morally it should be. The bus company might give you their policy in writing, but I doubt they will guarantee you will be able to get on etc, you should have a back up plan for a worst case scenario, as anyone else should.

Jeez..honeyandapple on the multiple threads I've seen over the years about the need to protect disability rights and spaces, your post is definitely up there with the worst of the bunch...

I wish all the unnecessarily negative posters on the thread would think for a minute about what their life would look like if they lost their mobility to such a degree, that they needed to

a) use a wheelchair
b) whilst carrying on parenting
c) felt daunted by the idea of a bus journey

and perhaps consider the impact of that reality for themselves before making any condescending or sneery posts or posing convoluted obstructive hypotheticals that the OP may never face and I for one, have never faced.

Talk about kicking someone who needs a confidence boost.

Oh and OP @Worrysaboutalot
I have to say, I don't know about your local train links but if they are strong, the train is SO much easier than the bus in my area, I love getting the train.

Yes.