Bus Priority - Wheelchairs or Prams?

[lawrawrrr]

Whoever is there first, if it's an unfoldable pram. If it folds up, the bus driver should have the authority to ask that person to fold the pram up or leave the bus.

[GommeInc]

Wheelchair users should have priority - it's a no brainer. This case is incredibly irritating to read from a practical point of view as the bus company had tried to move the woman but the woman refused to move yet the bus company is the one in trouble for one selfish woman's act - her son was only asleep. This is due in part to their "first come first served" policy but it should really be based on first disabled traveller rather than woman who isn't disabled who is not restrained from moving from one seat to another.

The case itself is quite interesting though from a legal point of view and the awaiting judgment is based on:

(i) whether F had a provision, criterion or practice for the purposes of s.20(3) of the Act;
(ii) if so, whether it placed disabled people at a substantial disadvantage in relation to the provision of F's service, namely access to and use of bus travel;
(iii) if so, whether reasonable steps could be taken to avoid that substantial disadvantage;
(iv) whether any failure to take those steps had caused P a detriment.

(F = First Group plc, P = Paulley)

Going further into the above issue:

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Judgment for claimant. (1) The policy adopted by F at the material time of "first come, first served", whereby a non-wheelchair-user occupying the wheelchair space on the bus would merely be requested to move, was a provision or practice within s.20(3) (see para.10 of judgment). (2) The disadvantage suffered by a disabled person in comparison with persons using the bus service who were not disabled, being the appropriate comparators, was substantial: by reason of the practice adopted by F, the disabled wheelchair user would be unable to travel on the bus and would therefore have to wait for the next bus or take a different form of transport (para.11). (3) The practice suggested by P, namely that the system of priority given to wheelchair users should be enforced as a matter not of request but of requirement, was a reasonable one. Such a requirement could be incorporated into F's conditions of carriage (para.21). (4) P had suffered a detriment: there could be little doubt that the delay which he had suffered amounted to more than an "unjustified sense of grievance" for the purposes of the relevant Code of Practice (para.22). (5) As to damages, this was not a case where the defendant had behaved in a high-handed, malicious or insulting manner. On the contrary, F's driver had acted courteously and professionally throughout. The case belonged at the top end of the lowest band; P would be awarded £5,500 for the injury to his feelings (para.24).

That said, from a design point of view you could argue that with more mobility for both disabled and mothers/fathers, buses should be designed to accommodate more prams and wheelchairs.

[Jssy]

Where I live this happened and the woman with a pram refused to move so the bus company stopped the bus and called the police, its their policy that a pram must move or be folded down for a wheelchair user and I agree, a wheelchair is a necessity for someone who isn't mobile. A pram whilst useful is not a necessity.

[Gina]

i remember being on a bus and the wheelchair used literally got verbally abused on the bus because he was taking up the space when there was someone with a buggy who needed in so he ended up getting off the bus and he got a taxi home which was pretty nasty
i think wheelchair users should def get priority lol especially if the pram can be folded up or if its just a baby sleeping

however at same time i dont think people should be pushed off of the bus
in my area the buses come every 10 mins anyway or most at least and if they're unable to shut the pram or whatever then idk think should just be whoevers there first lol or whoever acc needsthe bus at that time
like if they haves a drs appt or theyre needing to go there whereas other person is fine waiting an extra 10mins

idk if that even makes sense lol reason why i hate replying to these things but thisi nterested me ok bye

[Kyle]

there are also foldable wheelchairs and a wheelchair user can fit on a seat safely where a baby/child cannot.

[Mikey]

On the buses here it's a wheelchair area, has it clearly on the area - yes it may be difficult for parents with prams but it's a WHEELCHAIR area. Wheelchair users of course should have priority.

[Gina]

there are also foldable wheelchairs and a wheelchair user can fit on a seat safely where a baby/child cannot.

however it takes a lot longer for people to get in and out of a wheelchair if they're paraplegic for example and could result in them missing stops?
someone who i know whos disabled cant even get out the wheelchair by himself currently lol and when he could do it with less assistance he needed a yellow board to slide off/on a seat
its a lot harder to get in/out of a wheelchair than just picking a child out of a pram
they are in that wheelchair for a reason lol isnt as easy as just standing up and walking to a seat
i doubt thats v possible on a moving busy bus lol

[lemons]

i think wheelchair should get priority and if a pram is there they should fold it up but i think the real issue is that there isn't enough space on buses!

[Kyle]

buses have side bars available next to priority seating for reduced mobility passengers to ease their seating transfer. prams with children in will still take up space and will take more time to fold when we consider that they may also be being used for storage. as for missing a stop, this is simply not the case. if you want to get off, you ring the bell and the bus driver will stop, wait for you to get off, and continue their journey. the bus wouldn't be in transit when the person was moving into/out of their seat.

more thought needs to be invested in bus design in all i think. it's not a case of wheelchair/scooter v pram, it is a case of looking to accomodate for both. make buses longer and add more wheelchair/pushchair bays at the front. if both are foldable (bearing in mind that some wheelchairs and prams are not) then it becomes a moral question of who is more deserving of a seat which is just silly and in that case it should just be first come first served.

[Gina]

buses have side bars available next to priority seating for reduced mobility passengers to ease their seating transfer. prams with children in will still take up space and will take more time to fold when we consider that they may also be being used for storage. as for missing a stop, this is simply not the case. if you want to get off, you ring the bell and the bus driver will stop, wait for you to get off, and continue their journey. the bus wouldn't be in transit when the person was moving into/out of their seat.

it will take a lot longer for someone to open a folded wheelchair and leave the bus than someone with a pram lol
with a pram its a lot easier to sort yourself out off the bus as well once youre off and just carrying the pram and your child out and sorting it out then off on your journey
with a wheelchair you need to tranfer onto the seat, fold away the wheelchair etc and then getting off you cant just walk off with the wheelcdhair in your hand until your sorted because they cant lol it literally has to all be done on the bus
what if the person has no one with them as well
are they suppoed to be expected to be sat down and fold up their wheelchair with a bar in the way or do it to the side where no one can get through?
and then what about when they arent reduced mobility and they cant move hip down do you expect them to move by themself and sort it out by themself because i dont think a bar for them to hold onto will make it easier if they cant move their legs
there also cant be that much storage considering its a pram and you cant fit lots of shopping bags on lol
what if the disabled person has stuff with them? i know the person i know keeps bags at the back of his wheelchair with all the stuff he needs incase something happens and keeps things at the bottom, bags on his lap etc