Pushchair users v Wheelchair user

[windy miller]

In the event of any conflict between occupied pushchair space(s) by mother and child, would a Driver be prepared to carry a wheelchair user on the platform?...at least for a short distance? perhaps to the first available sheltered stop in the event of heavy rain? :-\ :-\  do WM have a company policy? or is there an element of driver descretion? :-\ :-\

[Tony]

No, Wheelchairs must be in the proper allocated space for safety reason, the main one being it cannot tip over if the driver has to brake hard

[andy]

Refusal by an idle chav chariot minder to dispose of their wheels in favour of the wheelchair would be a simple handbrake on/paper out situation for me, no questions asked.

[windy miller]

 Too true!  Although I believe there may currently be a major court dispute in progress as we speak but I'm not sure which bus group may be involved...or their company policy :-\ :-\

[D10]

Too true!  Although I believe there may currently be a major court dispute in progress as we speak but I'm not sure which bus group may be involved...or their company policy :-\ :-\

It's First who are involved. I believe their policy is probably the same as most bus companies. Namely that if the wheelchair space is occupied, the occupier will be asked to move, but can not be forced.

Seems the most sensible policy as although it goes without saying that wheelchair users should have priority there will always be folk who refuse to move.

I'm glad that First are appealing against the earlier decision. What is the driver meant to do then,get out of his can and manhandle the pushchair out of the way? That is what the court seemed to be saying!

[andy]

I'm glad that First are appealing against the earlier decision. What is the driver meant to do then,get out of his can and manhandle the pushchair out of the way? That is what the court seemed to be saying!

Not atall. Like I said, handbrake on, paper out until they've made the space available.

[danny]

I'm going to sound like such a bad guy here, and I honestly don't mean to cause offence, but the way I see it, NX operate a two buggy policy, which means that if a mother, father, gran or grandad is the 3rd buggy along the route, and they can't fold the buggy down for whatever reason, they have to wait for the next available bus, this isn't discrimination, this is common sense.

Now same situation, but this time mother 3 with the massive buggy is on the bus and another buggy user is also on the bus, when somebody in a wheelchair rocks up, can you really ask someone to get off the bus who would not be allowed on if he or she was the one trying to board??

Who is being discriminated against really??

[andy]

I'm going to sound like such a bad guy here, and I honestly don't mean to cause offence, but the way I see it, NX operate a two buggy policy, which means that if a mother, father, gran or grandad is the 3rd buggy along the route, and they can't fold the buggy down for whatever reason, they have to wait for the next available bus, this isn't discrimination, this is common sense.

Now same situation, but this time mother 3 with the massive buggy is on the bus and another buggy user is also on the bus, when somebody in a wheelchair rocks up, can you really ask someone to get off the bus who would not be allowed on if he or she was the one trying to board??

Who is being discriminated against really??

The point you're missing is that nobody is telling anybody to get off the bus, just to free the space up. That space is the only one available to a wheelchair, which cannot be folded up. The owner of the pushchair can sit or stand anywhere on the bus with a folded pushchair.

[tank90]

May be bus companies can do what super markets and our carparking companies do and thats put signs on the floor marking out where push chairs and wheel chairs go. with a sign on the window next to the disabled area reading a long the lines of disabled space, if a wheel chair user needs this sapce please move. Either fold your buggy or leave the bus. OK that is in your face, but at the end of the day wheel chair users have been drawing the short straw with buses for years. When i was a wee lad in the early 1990's my mum would have shopping me and a buggy she folded the buggy up, ok maybe my mum isnt a good comparision as she used to work in the old Redditch bus station in the canteen untill late 1989 but the drivers would help her. But then again you could say socialty has changed since then.

[Steveminor]

In Weston a woman caught my merc minibus & was happy to fold down the buggy (we had significantly cheaper fares than first). She got off the bus in town unfolded the pushchair then transferred onto a First bus going to Crabbs Causeway. A wheelchair passenger wanted to get on & she refused to fold her buggy because "it's too big to fold up myself". Just goes to show how thoughtless & selfish people can be. The poor guy in the wheelchair had to wait an hour for the next bus. Fortunately one of my drivers offered to take him personally in his car.

[Cedric]

you can add large shopping trolleys to that 

[windy miller]

 It had occured to me that we in the WM catchment area appear to be reasonably well blessed with an excellent Ring&ride facility?.  if the wheelchair user has a flat battery on his/her wheelchair and/or has no mobile phone/signal could a driver contact control and ask them to arrange a collection from his present Loc? :-\

[monkeyjoe]

Wheelchair user loses case. Bad state of affairs.

[Dutsey]

Wheelchair user loses case. Bad state of affairs.

At last common sense prevailed today. What more can a compnay do other than ask the rider to move and if she doesn't that is not the fault of the bus company.

If a person wants to be a pr*** what can any bus company do?

[Stuharris 6360]

Sorry, but i disagree with arguments on here regarding this situation.

Surely the legislation is designed so that disabled people are treated in exactly the same way as able bodied people. If the bus pulls up at a stop and a wheelchair user is already occupying the space and a pushchair user wished to board, then unless the pushchair is folded down, then they have to wait for the next service. However if a pushchair user is already occupying the space, then if the pushchair user is unwilling to fold the pushchair (and it may be difficult), then the wheelchair user must wait for the next service.