Bus driver refused to make passenger leave

[MobilityCat]

Last night on the very crowded bus I was unable to get to the wheelchair space to park, as it was full of luggage and people. The only place available was in the doorway.

A person stood next to me in the doorway and refused to move to allow people off, saying it was I that was in the way.

I asked him to move out of the doorway so other passengers could get off, but he wouldn't so I told him that he was being inconsiderate and he started shouting and swearing at me. I told him to move away and leave me alone.

He persisted so I called twice to the driver to get him off the bus, but the driver took no action to make him leave, so I was left to manage his abuse.

He then stood in front of me and threatened me, so I raised my walking stick and pointed it at him as a warning. He backed away but carried on threatening me.

I told him that I didn't want to hurt him but if he didn't leave me alone and continued threatening me I would.

He moved further away from me, but continued to swear at me, but since he was no longer a threat I just ignored him.

I was bullied as a child, but learned to stand up against bullies as they are basically cowards, but Is it asking too much to expect the driver to protect their passengers?

Only if the wheelchair space is full with a wheelchair. If it's not the OP has every right to board the bus.

The driver should have refused to move until OP was safely in the wheelchair space. That's what they do round here. Surely it contravenes health and safety otherwise.

When I had the pram I walked. It was pointless trying to get on a bus no one is moving out the way it's too packed.

I moved out of London and bus drivers go above and beyond where I live. Bus drivers in London don't give a shit.

The driver should have refused to move until OP was safely in the wheelchair space. That's what they do round here. Surely it contravenes health and safety otherwise.

The driver shouldn't have lowered the ramp and let the OP on in her wheelchair, until the wheelchair space was clear.

Because yes, otherwise it very much contravenes health and safety.

For the OP and for the other bus passengers.

The bus driver refuses to move. Works very quickly as noone wants to be kept waiting.

Unfortunately, most people, including me, are afraid of being assaulted/stabbed/hurt themselves by clearly unstable and threatening people. A large, threatening, verbally abusive man in an enclosed space (bus) would be intimidating to anyone in that situation and very few are equipped to physically help in that situation other than call the police.

Should of rung the police the bus drivers don’t have any powers to remove people

I certainly wouldn’t expect the driver to get involved in confrontation
every year there are 1000,s of physical assaults on people working with the public

there paid to drive not deal with thugs and line themselves up for a kicking

Supposed you be happy for him to get assaulted

I was on a bus just going from the main NEC building to one of the car parks. The driver was quite persistent in making the people leave the wheelchair area. Unfortunately the woman in the wheelchair couldn't go up the ramp anyway as the bus was parked on an angle due to the curving curb.

@MobilityCat Apologies if someone has already asked this............I'm a bit confused. You were unable to use the wheelchair space as it was taken up by luggage and people.
But then you refer to your walking stick, and potentially hitting the aggressive man with it.
So were you in your wheelchair and using a walking stick?
Not judging or criticising, just curious.

Difficulty is, was there anywhere for the luggage to go if moved? Not saying it had rights over the OP, but logistically, where there empty racks etc?

This is not unusual.

Many wheelchair users need sticks to get in and out of their chairs and to use the toilet etc.

Sounds a horrible situation, but bus drivers (certainly for some companies anyway I don’t know about all) are actually not allowed to leave their cab for reasons such as this. They are not insured to forcibly remove people from their buses, there’s all manner of liability and health and safety issues, they can actually get sacked if they leave their cab and try and physically deal with a situation like this. As I say this may not be across the board but I know certain companies this is definitely the case.

Not everyone who uses a wheelchair cannot stand or walk a small distance unaided. As an example, the other day my DM used a wheelchair to get from the car and around the supermarket but got out and walked a few steps to sit down in the cafe. Wheelchair was folded up and put to the side until she needed it again. She needs the stick for the transfer

I agree and said that way up the thread, right towards the beginning.

I wouldn't complain because it may come back to bite you.Your threatening of the man with a stick was way worse than anything he did.

@TwattyMcFuckFace and @TWETMIRF
Ah, thank you!
I never thought of that and it's good to be educated!😊

I don’t think bus drivers try that in London. They could cause major gridlock!

Shocked at posters defending this behaviour and saying drivers should not get involved.

Not all bus drivers are men. Would you expect a small woman to leave the cab to confront an aggressive male passenger? Bus companies' rules about what drivers should or shouldn't do must apply to all drivers equally.

then they are suppose to get off… same with prams if there is no where to go you are meant to get off, can see why the drivers don’t want to get involved will get a brick through the window where i am if you forced someone off.

The people occupying the disabled bay should have moved for you. Unless they themselves were disabled? The guy sounds horrible. It might not have been clear to the driver what was happening between you two. If he wasn't actually holding up the bus then I guess the driver considered it a disagreement between the two of you. I think it is really hard for drivers when there's a row. If the guy threatened you you should report him to the police. I'm not sure about reporting the bus driver though.

She was in her wheel chair being abused by a thug and she picked up her stick to defend herself cause no one else would. Good on her for sticking up for herself against an arsehole.

Bus drivers are paid to drive safely. They can ask people to move, but cannot make them move. If they refuse to drive the bus, then rather than one angry person they could face dozens who are being delayed. Bus drivers can't win, and the travelling public (whether passengers or in other vehicles) often blame them for everything.

Sorry to hear this happened to you.

Im similar situations I have seen, the driver usually refuses to move the bus until whoever needs to take action does so. The wrath of other passengers being delayed usually sees the offender take action.

People are so violent these days, it's no wonder drivers sit behind screens, and they shouldn't be getting involved in a physical level at all. Don't blame the driver for this, it's not their fault people behave like this.

I think bus drivers up my way earn less than a quid over minimum wage. Unsociable hours, abusive passengers, pushy management, it’s quite a lot of responsibility for poor wages. I dare say it grinds you down over time, head down, just get through your shift.

Yes they do, I've seen it more than once and have lived here all my life.

They also have a very loud alarm they can sound if there's any trouble on the bus.

I'm not sure what the alarm is for, (probably to alert people to call the police) but I've seen it used once and the aggressive passengers (teenage kids in this instance) got off the bus very quickly.

The roads are mostly gridlocked anyway, so a driver refusing to drive off wouldn't change that too much.

However, this driver shouldn't have lowered the ramp and let the OP on anyway, as that just added to the problem and made it unsafe for both her and the passengers.