AIBU: to feel slightly smug/happy/justified that double buggy trumped a "mobility scooter"?

[Woollymummy]

A certain lady on our bus route has landed some of our bus drivers in trouble for having defended my right as a fare-paying passenger to keep my double buggy intact with sleeping toddler and non-walking baby inside, rather than have them turned out so she can take "her rightful place" in the wheelchair space. she has not got a wheelchair. she has a mobility/pavement transporter thing which she can get in and out of herself, and also has a huge vendetta against any pushcahir owning person who dares to get in her way. I have folded up for her before, pregant, with two kids, sleeping/awake etc, getting a thankyou while the driver gets a snappy remark or vice versa. Today I refused to fold because the bus driver told her he had a letter refuting her claim to the pushchair space. She backed down, I returned to my seat feeling smug/thankful/guilty. I want to feel happy about this outcome - is that wrong?

I would not expect to take a double buggy on a bus.

If I did get on a bus with any kind of pushchair, I would expect a wheelchair/mobilty scooter/old person with a stick/zimmer/four wheeled shopping basket to take priority. I would get off the bus if necessary.

I have noticed a lot of veiled prejudice to older people on MN recently

Some types of mobility scooter aren't permitted on buses.

Being over 60 doesn't mean you are disabled.

I have a shopping trolley, they are not a disability.

I was nearly run over by one of the buggers a couple of weeks ago, she came straight at me and DD and we had to leap either side of her in a sketch show style.
Mobility scooters are just as good as the bloody bus and would probably get you to your destination faster around here.
As they have tax disc's they are vehicles so should a vehicle be on a bus anyway, is it safe ?

Good for you, though.

Mobility scooters with a max speed of 4mph don't need tax discs. from the DVLA site

Stagecoach has a list of mobility scooters that it will allow on its buses and also states that the list will be updated as and when new models come out.

I bet she'd have loved to hold the sleeping baby.

surely this is something that there is no right or wrong answer to..

you would like to think its a case of common sense and manners on both sides.

There are going to be times when wheelchairs/mobility scooters can be folded and equally there are going to be times when prams/buggies can be folded.

Surely a little communication along with a little give and take will allow everyone who needs the bus to use it

and Yes mobility scooters can be used on the road but they run on a battery and dont have a great range and I wouldnt want to travel on one on busy roads.. could be very scary

At the risk of being flamed by mums with large families, which I not criticising, BTW, but surely if the OP cannot manage to get on a bus with a buggy and two kids, why on earth is she pregnant again?

I drew the line at two for practicality, perphas if she finds buses difficult, she should have as well?

Oh dear - Woollymummy, do you get the gist yet?

That's a slightly ridiculous post mumtocharlieandlola......

Op in the wrong.

Disability over buggies every time.

However - more provision for both on buses would solve a lot of problems.

how?

But she does get on the bus ok. It's the lady with the scooter who can't!

You really have to ask? Advocating stopping at two as some sort of moral, practical choice.... I prefer not to interfere in peoples reproductive rights...

I can see how it must look, but I meant without having unrealistic expectations of other people and expecting other people to accommodate her who are not in a position to do anything about their situation.

No its not moral choice, its whether you can realistically cope with more than two, I couldn't, then again I can't apply my own standards to everyone else can I.

Forget my post,

Oh bravo OP. What a clever post. I hope you were still feeling so pleased with yourself after posting that you went straight out and got your self some champers to celebrate in style. I expect you are so hungover from the celebrations that you are unable to get on MN today to reply to any of our posts. [PP being a sarcastic bitch emoticon]

What a truly nasty point of view you have OP.

Ok MumToC&L - I do get where you are coming from

hmm wonders if op lived in area without easy acces buses what would she do then .never go out bet would find way to mange

On the buses we use there is a space for either a wheelchair or a buggy or two. It clearly states that wheelchair users have priority over buggies.

I get the impression the OP is a troll - i can't imagine being able to manouvre a mobility scooter onto a bus - although im willing to be corrected. I wouldn't dream of expecting to take precedence over someone with a disability. I would move, without question, we all would. Wouldn't we.

I hate the whole seat dilemma though - you know how it is, you sit there and you see someone get on the bus - they look like they could do with a seat but like they could be mortally offended if you offer - what to do what to do??? I avoid those seats for that very reason, but usually spared the dillema as i have DD with me so other people tend to offer.

di TDWP ever explain her daft comment?

I have three kids - aged 4, 2 and 6 weeks. when we get on the bus i normally use a sling for the newborn a buggy for the 2 year old and the 4 year old walks. On the buses around here there are two spaces for buggys or wheelchairs. I normally park the buggy in one of them. If a wheelchair wanted to get on it would be difficult to control my two year old (who has a language and development delay and so i admit isnt the easiest to handle) BUT I would manage it for the few stops it would be needed - only thing is i would need help to fold the buggy with the sling on otherwise i would crush my youngest - hopefully another passenger would help!.

My mother was disabled for many many years before she died - not in the visible sense but she had a very serious heart problem which meant that she could not walk even short distances (she rarely left the house as she refused to use a wheelchair). when she did manage to get out she couldnt use stairs or even bend over to pick something up. she had 4 heart attacks before she died. If she had got on a bus I assume the original poster would have mown her down in an attempt to get to the disabled space first! Many times we were accused of falsley using disabled spaces even though she had a badge.

I have to admit i DO use disabled toilets when there is no family toilet availible. Im sorry but there is no way i am leaving my tiny baby outside i public toilet plus one of the two public toilets in our (smallish!) town the disabled toilets are downstairs and the others usptairs I cant safely take three kids under five up the stairs so i use the disabled one. It would save hassle if there was a family toilet on the ground floor but there isnt.

sophie

Sorry about bringing up the toilet thing - how the hell I missed that thread is anyone's guess...

Nabster (first time bold I'll have you know) oh well, I'm sure you won't lose sleep!

Riven - appreciate the honest answer a lot earlier, simple answers to simple questions make me question my actions and adjust accordingly.

I was on a bus yesterday and a woman pushing a wheelchair wanted to get on, so driver trys to put ramp down but it wont go she goes to front doors of bus moaning that ramp is not working so he moves bus and trys again, still ramp not working so he lowers bus and she heaves the chair on to the bus moaning the the ramp is not working, the bloke in the chair then gets out of chair and walks to a seat she puts chair in wheelchair/buggy space and off we go.
Gets to their stop and she get the chair out agian and the bloke walks back to it sits in it and the whole ramp thing starts again....

If he could walk in the first place how hard would it have been to get on and off the bus, there was no need to get back in the chair before getting off the bus really.

Perhaps walking causes him pain, and he walked on entirely out of necessity.

Maybe he can't lift his legs enough to get on a bus Kimi