Bus companies are not required by law to force parents with buggies to make way for wheelchair users

[DuelingFanjo]

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First Bus wins wheelchair court judgement - Bus companies are not required by law to force parents with buggies to make way for wheelchair users in designated bays on vehicles, senior judges ruled.

Might be a controversial opinion but I am glad.

I usually leave it in my car, thanks for your concern.

Curiousgeorgie, so is the bugaboo chameleon a single for your dd1?( they are twins, so I am assuming that dd2 doesn't need a buggy?) - does she qualify for a sn buggy or wheelchair due to her hypermobility? - eg needin g more support or not safe in a normal buggy? If not then maybe you would be able to get a lightweight stroller for bus journeys, then someone could fold it whilst you sat dd1 on your lap and dd2 sat next to you.

I understand about the screaming the place down - dd1 would have been exactly the same, but sometimes it was necessary on bus journeys, but obviously at 4 no one would need to hold her, different if she was a baby!

I have acknowledged how difficult it must be, I'm not really sure what else you're looking for

To acknowledge that it is possible, though admittedly difficult, to get on a bus with a baby, a 4 year old and a bag.

The cheap stroller is left in the bus doorway whilst the 4 year old and the bag are placed on the seat then the stroller is retrieved.

The bus driver may eye roll, you smile sweetly and say thank you.as previously stated, 99 times out of 100 someone carries the stroller on for you.

I think it means Goady Fucker. They think they're being clever

Gf is either gina ford or goady fucker

I'm not sure which is less insulting...

I used to use an i candy double when out with her but it was too heavy for kerbs and stuff, I tried a buggy board but she couldn't cope with it, I generally push my buggy with 1 hand and hold her on my hip, letting her walk as much as possible. If I know it's not just a short journey, I wait until the weekend and go with my DH so we can take 2 prams.

GF = goady fucker, Babiecakes

It refers to a poster who is seeking to be unnecessarily contentious or is just on a general wind-up.

If you have a four year old unable to walk due to a disability, then you wouldnt need to fold your pram (i dont personally think it being a double makes any difference). She is one of the people entitled to the space!

It does sound difficult. Having caught tons of buses when ds was a baby and dd1 and 2 were 4 and 3 (we caught the school bus every day, and that didn't even have wheelchair spaces let alone buggy spaces!) I know it is difficult.

But ds's buggy is not designed to be folded at all, it has a tilt in space mechanism that makes it impossible. He can walk but not any distance, he has low tone, hence needing lateral supports in his buggy, for 4 or 5 months of this year he was unable to walk at all as he dislocated his hip climbing off the the sofa. He has no sense of danger, and is unable to sit on a bus seat safely. He has a sn car seat, as he needs the support in the car, on the bus his sn buggy acts as his support. The bus journey to most of our hospital appointments is half an hour, these journeys would not be difficult they would be impossible.

Ah ok, so 3 children, a baby and 4 year old twins - sorry. The best double we had was a nipper 360, big enough for dd2 at 4 and despite its size not too bad to fold.

Sorry if I am being daft, but is a sling for the baby possible whilst dd1 goes in a stroller?

If she struggles with walking any distance, then she may be eligible for something from wheelchair services, as she must be outgrowing the bugaboo. It may be worth asking her physio or gp for a referral.

It is also illegal to discriminate on basis of gender, age, race, religion or sexual orientation. Banning buggies would be clear discrimination on age grounds and indirectly on gender. Bus companies need to provide space for buggies (folded would be ok) as well as space for a wheel chair.

There is no space for folded buggies. They are not allowed in the luggage rack, so often it's not even a case of folding. The buggy user will have to get off.

No bilberry, theyre not banning babies!

Hazey, low tone also implying a disability? Again, he could use the wheelchair space, a disabled child in a buggy counts as a wheelchair (usually a maclaren major i know, but a lot of people use regular buggies for as long as possible).

Or, sorry, are you explaining to others why ds's pushchair counts? I think i read that wrong...

No-one is saying BABIES can't go on buses. just buggies. It is no more discrimination to refuse them than it is to refuse skis. Buggies, like skis do not have rights.

There are spaces on a lot of buses, I guess it depends where you live. I tried to help someone get their folded buggy off the bus today but wasn't quick enough, two other people got there first.

Secondhand, my 'stroller' is suitable for a newborn to be in for hours, and would be £20 or less. It was £50 new and is on its second child, keeping up well with the use! Mothercare basic umbrella fold, suitable from birth.

Just in case anyone ever needed that knowledge!!

Sorry Beyond, I think I may be rambling! Yes ds is disabled, he is in a sn buggy issued by wheelchair services, and we have been in the position of having to vie for space on the bus.

Saying they are not banning babies by banning buggies is a bit like saying they are not banning disabled people by banning wheelchairs! Babies and small children who can't walk far need a means of getting around and it would not be expected that they should always be carried. A buggy is generally accepted as necessary for travelling with a small child so to ban them would in effect ban small children hence discrimination. After, banning buggies wouldn't affect any other age group! (You could ban unfolded ones though).

Babies do not need to get around. Wheelchair users do. It is convenient to put them in a trolly but not necessary. There are other ways of traveling.

Once ON a bus they similarly do not need to be in a buggy. A buggy is not their transport necessary but the transport CHOICE of the baby's parents and linked to lifestyle rather than need.

Dont get me wrong, I'll move if say my 2yo was in a stroller and there is somewhere to store the buggy (normally there's not) but I will not;

1. Be bullied into moving.
2. Hold a buggy/pram and a baby at the same time (just plain dangerous)
3. Collapse anything more complicated than a Umbrella fold stroller. My travel system goes down into two parts and sod fucking about with that on a bus.
4. Get off if there isn't a next bus due within the next 20 minutes. I have things to do as well. It's not just people in wheelchairs that have appointments although you would think so reading this thread

If the driver wants me off he can call the police. And then we'll all be late. I'm long past caring what a bus full of people think of me.

And yes I am entitled. Since the bus company did away with buggy storage and forced me to roll on and roll off, I'm entitled to put my pram somewhere and if the only space is the wheelchair space - that's not a problem I created is it? Bring back the storage and I will equip myself to be able to fold before the bus even arrives. Tell me I have to roll on, roll off and then thats what I'm going to do.

The bus companies needs to sort themselves out. Either we're folding or we're not. Simple.

Oh please, they will never ban buggy's.

You do realise this is a business and its all about profit?

I work with the public and it's not nice at all. You getting threatened with violence and all kinds of nonsense and I only work in a shop!

Imagine the abuse the bus driver will get

It's a shame we couldn't have bus conductors or buses with enough room for all paying customers.