Wheelchair Vs Buggy

[Twinning546]

I've just been reading about Doug Paulley being successful in the supreme court regarding pushchairs having to move for a wheelchair user. How does this work practically if there isn't any space to move to and you've already paid for your journey? Considering I travel with a large double pram with twins under 1 I can't just fold it up and sit with a child on my lap so I'd have to get off the bus.

A great ruling! Congratulations to Doug et al
I do feel it requires more clarity for the bus companies (although hopefully that's the next step to follow)

Maybe, just maybe it will encourage some common sense at last?
The one time I travelled on a bus with the giant pram and sleeping babies, I got on and asked the nearest passenger 'if I need to shift this, can I ask to to hold one of the babies please?'
He said yes.
No one needed my space but there was a simple plan if they did.
No drama.
Mild inconvenience at most.
Everyone catered for.
Why must it be so hard....

In my experience as a wheelchair user is is normally mothers who refuse to move. The fathers usually ask what to do and either fold or get off the bus with no argument (obviously on buses where both fit that isn't a problem)

My wee one is 19 months old and a complete live wire and I still carry him in a connecta carrier on trains and buses. I have never had an issue. Also I have ME/Fibromyalgia I manage with joint/back pain. I think if you know the transport you are likely to be taking will be busy pre plan or go when it's quieter if you don't have other options on how to get your wee one about. There are lots of options for us mummies and very few when it comes to disability, be kind what you see is only the surface. Just move regardless of how shit your day is or how late your going to be if you do the right thing. Where did all these self entitled people come from???

She is also a passenger, a woman, a person...I find it a bit like when the news reports that "a prostitute" has been murdered rather than "a woman" ifyswim

When it's rush hour to take a bus out of service a driver would not fell safe in parts of London without the police on standby. Particularity as the busier than usual bus means delays.

'Kinell I'm in agreement with Piglet about something

The battle isn't totally won. The ruling says that drivers can only pressurise, not force, buggy users to vacate the space.

Customers on the bus would do the decent thing and do the forcing and assist in the folding of the pram.

Some places only have a bus a day (or week). And what if the bus in question is the last bus ?

Anyone with a baby living in an area where bus services are as infrequent as that must know that it would be sensible to have an easily foldable buggy. If, having an unfoldable buggy, you choose to take the risk of waiting for the last bus, you still let the wheelchair occupant have the wheelchair space and you will just have to make other arrangements for travel.

And such a bus would probably have enough people to assist in any form of buggy folding. And rurial buses tend to have more storage room than those in Cities.

"Today 14:06 11122aa

When it's rush hour to take a bus out of service a driver would not fell safe in parts of London without the police on standby. Particularity as the busier than usual bus means delays."

where on earth are you getting these ideas from?

When I had ds1 in 1994 all buses had steps, I used a little fold up McLaren, a sling (or a combination of both) or walked. DT's were born in 2003 and some buses had step free access, I very occasionally used the bus but the majority of time walked the 3 miles home from town because inevitably i would wait at the bus stop to discover it was a non accessible bus. Now I'm disabled, when I could self propel I lost count of the number of buses I couldn't get on, not because the space was full but because the driver wouldn't stop - presumably because they didn't want to go to the bother of folding the ramp down. Now I have a mobility scooter which is meant to be allowed on buses but I've been waiting over a year for the necessary assessment to be allowed to use it on the bus and have given up. I'm lucky I have a car but without it I would be housebound. As a disabled person many things are impossible, I went for a job interview last week and was expected to climb 2 flights of stairs, I didn't get the job of course. As a parent I didn't lose as much, perhaps if some people put themselves in others shoes (or wheels) sometimes the world would be a nicer place...

Thats Awful. In London it be rare not to be able to get on the bus due to the driver discriminating thankfully, Not that often is there only one person waiting and no one getting off.

That FB thread is depressing and outright offensive in places. The equality act is there to ensure adjustments are in place to put a disabled person on the same level as a non-disabled person, even if that means treating them more favourably to achieve it.

When a non-disabled person is considered as a comparator, they do not use a person with a double buggy, 2 kids and 1 weeks shopping. Just one able bodied person, who would be able to get on the bus just fine if they didn't have a wheelchair to accommodate.

I was impressed by Doug Paulley's interview where he talked about getting able-bodied people with buggies to move, as it was an acknowledgement that disabled people can be parents, and that parents can be disabled, something a lot of the commentary on this has missed.

This presumably would come into play in the buses where there isn't a wheelchair space as such, but an "accessible" space specifically labelled as available to both wheelchairs and buggies. (Some bus companies have wheelchair spaces, some have these "accessible" spaces.) In these cases, able-bodied people with buggies should move, but whichever disabled person got on first would have the right to the space, whether they used a wheelchair or had a buggy that, due to their disability, they were unable to fold. (Wheelchair-only spaces should obvs be priority use for wheelchairs.)

Why on earth are so many pushchairs now made without the option to collapse as so many people on here and that gastly Facebook have said their pushchair just doesn't fold. Why? And why buy one if you are going to use public transport?

If you only have one child in the pram, then it easy to hold them and fold your pram. I had twins and a two year old, so it would not have been possible for me to hold two young babies and fold a pram. Bad enough getting out the door with young twin babies without fear of being thrown off the bus. Why anyone would think it was okay for someone with young babies to be thrown off the bus and possibly in very cold weather, when they have probably had to wait in the cold already with the babies is hard for me to understand. I agree with people folding a pram if they have one baby, but not if you have multiple babies and you are alone.

Can I also ask about the folding seats? We have them here and I think they are intended as a wheelchair space should one become available. I am disabled and at the moment not using my wheelchair. I do however need a priority seat of some kind (I occasionally use my stick but not always so people wouldn't be aware of my disability). Usually the seats easiest available to my limited capacity for walking are the folding seats. Would I need to vacate? I hate asking for a seat, the last time I did some daft cow told me "people like you should be made to wear badges".
I should add I am obviously in full support of the man winning this case I just want to clarify what I would have to do legally in that position.

That FB thread is depressing and outright offensive in places.

Completely agree.

Offensive and disgraceful.

Oh somebody on my facebook being a twat about this they are usually so reasonable about this kinda stuff but apparently her child comes first who is a toddler not a baby im venting here so I dont rant on facebook trying to find a rational response or just scroll past I can't decide ?

Horrible FB thread. I have learned the word 'crotchfruit' from it though, which is not a term I had previously encountered, so reading the vile and aggressive commentary was not a complete waste of time.

Excellent news!

Why should someone disabled have to wait in the cold either? They might not be able to physically get there without the bus with a pram you still can. Somebody would help you fold the buggy.

11122aa because giving birth confers extra special status which exceeds disability