Where are we s'posed to blardy go then?

[IlooklikeGrotbagstoday]

here I have always got off the bus if a wheel chair needs to get on and to be honest this has probably happened once in the 3 years i have had DS. Not really sure why they're making a big deal about it really.

i saw a wheelchair user argue until he was blue in the face with a driver in edinburgh that he had the right to get on the bus but the driver insisted that the buggy stay on. the woman with the buggy just sat there. it was horrific.

That's awful! I wouldn't think twice about getting out of the way for someone in a wheelchair seeing as the space is actually reserved for them.

I always moved seat or folded the pram if a wheelchair came on. Sometimes I even got off.

I always did feel like I was a nuisance though and tried to avoid using the bus as much as possible.

Exactly, all it takes is a bit of common sense.

But perhaps if common sense is lacking on a regular basis, and self-regulation isn't working then something has to change.
If I was a wheelchair user, I wouldn't be impressed by having to argue for my basic rights every time I wanted to access somewhere.

This wouldn't happen if this was a matriarchal society. Some people are just so thick.
Yes, let wheelchair users in the dedicated space but don't treat women with kids like second class citizens either. I'm see more mums on buses than wheelchairs, there should be dedicated space for them too. Are they trying to scare away custom? Think of all those mums that use the buses!! They'll loose so much business.

i never take dd on the bus.......no way am I going to battle to get her wheelchair into the wheelchair space.

So what happens then when...

I normally catch bus A, but can also catch bus B and walk a bit further. DS was fast asleep in buggy. I noticed at the bus stop for bus A that there is someone in a wheelchair, so I decided to go on bus B instead. Bus B turns up, everyone gets on, quite a few buggies so some are folded and the person in the wheelchair had joined the queue.

I'd deliberately tried not to get in the way of that person, and had paid my fare. Should I have been asked to get off?

They were waiting at bus A bus stop, which is not the same bus stop as the one for bus B. It would be fairly safe to assume they wanted the bus which stopped at the stop they were at.

There was no where left to put folded buggies, the bus was very busy.

I would ask the driver for a reciept. They can print it from their little machines and volunteer to take the next bus.

I never thought about a receipt. It doesn't matter now anyway. DS is 5 now. As it was, they were asked to wait for the next bus, but they run every 5-10 mins anyway.

I do think it's a good idea to keep pushchairs out of the wheelchair space, then it saves any arguments BUT, where I live, the buses round here label the area as 'drop-down seats for buggies' but also have a disabled sticker there. It's not very clear really.

I don't think it's realistic to start insisting that people who've already paid their fare just 'vacate the bus'.

Fair enough. The bus companies round here need to work out some way of dealing with chucking people off though!

in london the bus driver can activate an automated announcement that asks passengers to clear the space for a wheelchair user, & if i remember rightly there are stickers saying wheelchair users have priority but buggies can use the space otherwise. seems sensible to me, although no idea whether it works or not as the situation hasn't (yet) arisen whilst i've been on the bus with DS (although i have got off the bus a bit early to clear the space for an harassed-looking mother of twins with an uber-buggy!)

It seems to work well in London. The only problem is with pre-pay Oyster cards. If you have to get off you have to pay again.

Will they be asking "people who stand" or those with trolley bags (both the elderly and those bloomin' comuter ones) to vacate too?

it sounds like much ado about nothing - obviously wheelchairs get priority, there are stickers to say in London and I can't imagine who would try to put up a fight.

The space is for the wheelchair user, if no-one in a wheelchair needs it you can put your buggy there.

If a wheelchair needs it you have to haul arse. You can get a receipt from the driver (even with pre-pay Oysters) if you need to get off the bus before your journey is up if it isn't your fault (i.e. if the bus terminates early/you need to get out of way of wheelchair user etc).

It really is very simple.

the buses around here have two spaces one for a wheel chair and one for a pushchair. If there is no wheelchair on the bus then a second pushchair can use the space but if a wheel chair wanted to get on the person in that space has to fold. There is a clear notice saying this - no problem everyone knows whats going on. The spaces are also big enough so that large pushchairs can fit with no issue (I have taken a jane powertwin on easily on one occasion).
I really dont see the problem with this more towns should buy these buses!

It seems clear that if you get on a bus with a buggy that you cannot fold, you have to accept that if a wheelchair user gets on, you will have to get off the bus.

It is a shame that the government is having to bring in regulations, but that is what happens when people can't regulate themselves.

From having seen these threads previously, many people seem to basing their arguments on the idea that everywhere has huge double deckers and there is space for everyone. Where I live we have tiny minibuses as some of the roads are too narrow for double deckers, and there is only one bus an hour. Buggy use is problematic for other people on the bus.