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?

Bystander syndrome is horrible, no one helped us when someone tried to attack my husband (he accidentally stepped on this teenagers foot because it was stuck out quite far into the aisle). He just tried to stand in front of me/protect me because I was 8 months pregnant. Bus driver didn't stop or ask the person to get off even through the intercom which would have not put him in harms way. The driver is also behind a locked compartment on our buses.

I get it, I am disabled myself after a long stay in ICU in 2020 and 2023 albeit not in a wheelchair and I find it utterly disgusting that they didn't move I was just trying to work out possibly why this happened.
You shouldn't have had to deal with what you had to do, people are horrible and I hope you are ok. Well done for sticking up for yourself and I'm sorry if I came across wrong.

I suffered Verbal Assault and didn't threaten, just warned him.

There are signs saying wheelchair priority and buggies must move but I think there should also be signs saying general passengers need to move as well since people don't seem to have any common sense. If there is literally nowhere for the passengers to move to then the bus hopper fare in London allows them to catch another bus for free within an hour I think. In the sticks I'm not sure how it works if you have someone with a baby/pram in the middle of nowhere and ask them to leave the bus. Presumably they are given another ticket unless it's the last bus.

I sometimes get on a bus with a bunch of other people and get kicked off because the driver's shift has overrun. We get told to get onto the next bus.

It always takes ages to board because lots of people refuse to tap again, claiming they'll be charged twice. No, they've literally tapped about 10 mintues ago, so they won't get charged for tapping again.

I don't know why, but I don't think the Hopper fare is that well understood... it's brilliant, it's £1.75 for unlimited buses within an hour.

@ThatRareUmberJoker You have completely misconstrued the point of my post. If you had read it correctly, you would have seen that I said I was not criticising or judging, but curious.
I had assumed that being in a wheelchair meant that you didn't use walking sticks - and I had wondered how you could manage/manoeuvre both at the same time. Fortunately two other PPs explained why a person could indeed need both.
I was expressing no opinion whatsoever as to whether OP's actions were right or wrong.
Hope that sets things straight for you.

Many unhinged aggressive people seem to use public transport-I too have had incidents and it’s no wonder people want to use cars to keep away from aggressive assholes like these.

I cannot believe that you would say that. He was threatening me and I was defending myself, which prevented it from escalating. Are you saying that I asked for it?

Wheelchair users campaigned for years to get one space on a bus. If buggy users need additional space they need to campaign for them.

So, no, you do not know what assault is

"Common assault is when a person inflicts violence on someone else or makes them think they are going to be attacked. It does not have to involve physical violence. Threatening words or a raised fist is enough for the crime to have been committed provided the victim thinks that they are about to be attacked."

Thanks I'll try to remember that

If a parent uses the wheelchair space they need to willing to either collage the pram, move elsewhere or get off the bus.

the wheelchair space has been fought for by wheelchair users, it isn’t a space for anyone who fancies it.

Thank you for setting me straight I was going to have a sleepless night over it.

Perhaps you should stop referring to disabled people as wheelchairs.

Did you actually read my post? I asked him to let other passengers out and he turned on me, shouting at me and threatening me.

When he came towards me I held up my stick to keep him away from me and calmly told him that I didn't want to hurt him but if he continued to threaten me I would. It worked and he left me alone.

Absolutely!

Let me try to say this another way. I WAS DEFENDING MYSELF. He was approaching me threatening violence. My only means of defending myself was keeping him away from me with it.

I was abused in broad daylight in London no one came to my defence. People don't understand what it's like in London it's a box of frogs.

Ah, sorry to hear that. Hope you sleep well.

I didn't threaten I used it to keep him away and warned him that if he continued to threaten me I would use it to hurt him. He believed me and backed away.

I’m surprised that people saw that you were coming on the bus and just stood in the wheelchair space, that makes no sense. I’m even more surprised that the driver drove the bus knowing that you were in the way of the doors and wasn’t securely parked in a safe space.

There’s so much to complain about in this instance. I think it’s worth contacting TFL and getting them to remind the drivers that it’s imperative that the wheelchair user space needs to be cleared. The buses even have an announcement which tells people to move!

I understand your confusion, many people like me are semi ambulatory and need a stick to transition from the chair to the toilet etc. I also carry a portable ramp because sometimes the bus ramp doesn't work or there's no dropped kerb, etc.

I didn't expect them to leave their driving cubicle. Other posters have described the safe options available for the driver to use.

i'm disabled. perhaps you should stop making assumptions and try contributing something constructive to the debate instead of trying to score pointless points. A wheelchair and a disabled person are two completely diferent things. They are not interchangeable.

Come on, being disabled doesn't mean it's ok to refer to people as wheelchairs.

I must admit I did bristle when I read that post, although I accept you might have been typing quickly or something and not realised.