Do you use a wheelchair on public transport?

[hidetheelephant]

Scenario 1:

My friend's autistic DS is in a major buggy cos he can't be trusted near roads - that's the only reason. He has no mobility problems and is very calm, he doesn't have meltdowns. When the bus came there were buggies with asleep toddlers. Driver said it was first come first served and she would have to fold it. She explained she couldn't get him out near the road and he said she could wheel the pushchair on the bus so her DS was safe but she would still have to fold it.

Do you think that's OK?

Scenario 2:

Man on a train with non-walking tall and heavy 7 or 8 year old in a maclaren major. Child can be prone to terrible meltdowns and can be very violent. If he is moved or has to sit on your lap when he doesn't want to be he kicks, screams and struggles. Train is full so he would have had to. Wheelchair is turned away cos space is being used by the major.

Should man have folded major so the wheelchair could get on?

I think scenario 1 is fine. She got her kid safely on the bus and then she folded the buggy. It's not as if the bus driver was doing it to be a jobsmith - they can only take a few buggies on each bus.

Scenario 2. Well kid is effectively in a weelchair - it's just a foldable one that looks like a buggy. So why would one wheelchair get precendence over another? If it had been the other way round the major would have been turned away and the wheelchair would have stayed....

ok we use public transport all the time with ds either in manual chair or powerchair now

1 hmm was sort of ok , but major is a wheelchair and he should have requested buggys to move as its wheelchair space but if mum was happy with that soso

2 both are wheelchairs and theres an obvious need for the young lad to stay in his chair so its case of tough luck and personally myself would not got arsey about it .Though can see it being slightly differnt if the wheelchair space has been prebooked or normal buggys in there or suitcases is normal .

Never forget peoples faces when the transport policeman offered to put their luggage on platform if they not move it fast

on some trains i use there is no wheelcahir space and ds has to go in the gap between carriages .so im fortunate this is another option

But i admit we had a major and drivers did not get it was a wheelchair so much easier now ds has standdard wheelchair

I think wheelchairs are more obvious too (but agree that that doesn't mean people will move :( ).

I've found going in the space between carriages isn't always allowed unfortunately (except when there are no wheelchair spaces on the tr ain).

i lost count the amount of times how we travel right by the doors .And i catch the train which is major one to London or from airport you would think there be disabled spaces

snowmash

We seem to be lucky here the drivers will actually tell the buggys to fold if were coming on .Arriva

But yes not where we used to live which was run by first eastern

I take DS (ASD) on the bus in his maclaren major and people with prams have never been told to fold theirs up for us. I now have a sign on the front of his major which states 'not all disabilities are visable'. TBH I wish I had requested an actual wheelchair.

DS is impulsive and has no sense of danger and when we are on the bus he likes to put his mouth on the cold metal bar on the seat in front - this has resulted in a cut lip pouring with blood several times.

I have had people talk for the whole journey about lazy children in buggies and lazy parenting, and have had a bus driver argue with me that my son does not have a disability.

Scenarios in OP: but are wheelchairs for disabled people an should have been given priority, if there are two wheelchairs I think first come first served if only one space and neither person is mobile.

The bottom line is more should be done regarding awareness such as training for people working with the public and more facilities should be available.

Actually rereading I think the bus driver in scenario one was fair and he did allow her to take him onboard in it for his safety and fold it once he was on.

90% of the time I end up folding DS's major, there are always prams in there and drivers never ask them to fold them down.

i have a mac major ,and i always get asked to fold it as it takes up too much room and then my ds kicks off big style ,ive also had the comments to say hes too big for a pram and should make him walk !!

No I do Riven

Honestly people should know better than to mess with a sleep deprived mum IMO! Well, on a good day I give em what for, on a bad day I just go home and have a cry.

luckily i bought i car few months ago as couldnt hack public transport, ds get super hyper on buses especially with the noise so wont sit in seat jumps and runs, hit bangs head so keeing him in major much safer for him and evryone else, but have had drivers tell me to fold it down when not any buggys on bus in case one gets one!!!!!! and been told by driver if he can walk then there is no prob!!!!! arriva should defo have some disability training

That's lucky, roundthebend4! Some train companies seem to be more liberal than others..for the train company I'm thinking of, they're very good at letting you book the wheelchair space in carriage C, then sending out a train that only has a space in carriage G (for a line where most of the stations have short platforms).

I think they're irritated because I've complained so many times about my hour journey being turned into a 3 hour one because they wont let me off at the correct station (not an area with accessible buses as it's rural).

Scenario 2, you generally have to book wheelchair spaces, so if it had been me and my mate turned away from a train we hadn't booked, I'd have no problem. (say if we wanted to try and get an earlier train) We've had disgusted comments aimed at us when a (non SN) buggy had to be moved from the wheelchair space we'd pre-booked.

"How disgusting is it they can just force us to move?" "Come on darling, mummy's back will be hurting after this" "Can you not move the wheelchair so they can put the buggy there?" (My mate transfers from her chair to a seat but her chair is a rigid framed one so doesn't fold). Etc all the way from Staffordshire to London. Felt like saying "You've chosen not to book seats and bring a buggy, my mate can't exactly choose to leave the wheelchair at home."

Stupid people :(

Scenario one, I think they should've been asked to fold but if the mum was OK with doing what the driver said that's fine :).

well i have to say great easter trains are very good we deiced on the cuff to go to London today .Local station np said could we have ramps got us on the train np .But they are very good never insist on people booking and they phoned Liverpool to say where we was.

Then coming home tonight liverpool put us on and phoned local station and they were there with the ramp

But we do travel at least weekly on trains and most days by bus so ds is very well known

As an aside, those who take wheelchairs on trains, do you ever have problems with people putting luggage in the wheelchair spaces at the stops before you get on? And has anyone experienced what I did with people with pushchairs (whose child wasn't even in it grrr!) doing the stage whispered comments when they have to move?

yes especially as one of the trains i get is the stanstead express or the great western .

But have found on the whole that guards move it especially from my local ones but even from London there pretty good ,Yes there is whispers sometimes but think i look pretty fierce

and was one remarkable time where trains were delayed and messed up from paddington and we kept getting bumped of them as to full in end transport police got on and threatned to dump luggage

I tend to just ignore them unfortunately, I wish I had the guts to say something, because it REALLY winds me up! We're quite well known at our local station now (It's only little, 3 platforms), so they're great. The problems tend not to come from the train companies but Network Rail staff.

On that same London trip, we waited TEN MINUTES for a ramp! Good job that station was the end point for the train!

Actually, I may start a new thread so we can all share good/bad stories, to stop dragging this one off topic! I've got a few, good and bad :)

im up for it and do admit 99% of time we are very lucky and have ahd great staff where ever we are .Infact ds picture is on one of the staion leaflets about accessiablity .

He has is own fan club locally i swear lol

No, but I feel very sorry for those that do, or try to.

I always fold the buggy even though DS is considered disabled (autistic) but it pisses me right off when I see the huge lacy prams with newborn babies laying like a pearl in an oyster in them and arrogantly taking up three stroller / wheelchair / shopping trolley spaces.

The luggage rack is also much smaller these days because of the access spaces which would be fine if they were kept for the people who needed them and not the gigantic chariots containing newborns!

Presumably in scenario 2 the wheelchair would have booked cos you have to book to be able to use the ramp and the major hadn't booked because otherwise they would have been told there was no spaces on that train?

Forgot to mention in scenario 1:

Generally her DS doesn't sit in the major on the bus but if he kicks off or starts being violent then she has to put him in it not just for his own safety but for other people's. So she wasn't 100% happy to fold but did. However he then pinched 3 people on the bus, including one elderly lady who bleeds and bruises at the slightest touch :( Should the parents of the sleeping toddlers still been asked to fold when she was planning on getting him out of it at least for part of the journey, or all of it if he hadn't started pinching.

Or if the empty major had been taking up a space and someone else was waiting to get on the bus with a sleeping toddler should my friend be asked to fold so the other buggy with a child in it could get on?

Sorry I might have confused you there by saying he is calm and doesn't have meltdowns. He rarely has meltdowns (probably had about 4 in his life) but does have a problem with pinching and grabbing people's clothes or hair.

Hide that makes scenerio 1 harder to judge so can imagine tricky for bus driver to but yes majors not seen as wheelchairs

I do normally try and book but depending where going don't always especially if know there manned stations we often do local to Cambridge it to London or to broxbourne

they just get ramps out and phone where ever were going to say which carriage were on

same in reverse even when were booked they often gets us on earlier if we can

Think some staff at paddington not good but others are great including the one who escorted us to taxi rank and saw accesiable taxi was next and called it over so skipping ling queue

But on whole we have been very fortunate by bus or train

Oh and local station will be getting wine or beer for Xmas they really are the best :)