My apologies, I just need to get this out

Resident · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:16

My apologies, I just need to get this out, just to try an wrap my brain around being done with the world.

As some of you know I'm a bus driver and today I've had a passenger encounter that I just cannot believe actually happened.

So I'm on route, I have a wheelchair passenger and a pushchair passenger, which is fine but that's my limit for safety in terms of wheel/pushchairs. I pull up at a stop and there's another pushchair. I politely explain that I have no more room for her pushchair. Her response is what I truly cannot get my head around. She looked through the windows and said

"It's only a small child in the wheelchair, you could lift them out and fold it so I could get on". My chin hit the cab floor but I had to quickly open my cab door to block the mother of the wheelchair child as she was about to throw some fists at her.

In my years of bus driving I've never come across such selfishness, and trust me, there have been a lot of those type of interactions. Worst of it being that this particular stop is served by 7 different services, minutes apart and is only a 10min walk from the town centre.

Anyway, sorry for you time if you actually read this, I just needed to vent it out.

Hades · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:20

I recall a very similar issue was tested in court and it was found that the person with a disability took priority over the pushchair.

Victory for people with disabilities in 'wheelchair v buggy' bus case

Doug Paulley opposed a policy of "requesting but not requiring" non-disabled passengers to vacate spaces for wheelchair users.

news.sky.com

Resident · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:25

Hades said:
I recall a very similar issue was tested in court and it was found that the person with a disability took priority over the pushchair.

Victory for people with disabilities in 'wheelchair v buggy' bus case

Doug Paulley opposed a policy of "requesting but not requiring" non-disabled passengers to vacate spaces for wheelchair users.

news.sky.com

It's actually written into our "Terms & Conditions of Carriage" that the space MUST be made available for a wheelchair user however in practice we're also bound by company policy not to create a conflict so we can't really enforce it.

In this instance the W/C was already on board so it was easier to deal with but I have in the past refused to continue the journey if they didn't move out of the space. Turning the engine off and making it the other passengers problem tends to work.

m@rty · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:26

Just tell her to wait for the next chav wagon

glenimp617 · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:33

I wish I was surprised

haaammit · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:34

Unbelievable!
Out of interest, can you take an additional pushchair, but folded up with the child sat on a normal seat, or is it literally 1 wheelchair 1 pushchair regardless of if they're occupied or not?

VincentHanna · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:39

At first I read it as they wanted a small child removed from the pushchair so she could get on, which in my head wasn't too bad, depending on how frequent the buses are.

Then I realised they wanted the kid out of the wheelchair! Outrageous.

bainbridge · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:40

haaammit said:
Unbelievable!
Out of interest, can you take an additional pushchair, but folded up with the child sat on a normal seat, or is it literally 1 wheelchair 1 pushchair regardless of if they're occupied or not?

Presumably they can take more pushchairs as luggage as OP referred to a "pushchair passenger".

bloodiedathame · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:41

Humans.

/thread

Thekwango · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:42

not that surprised to be honest. people are, generally speaking, horrible. they're so far up their own aholes and focused on their own little world they don't give a stuff for anyone else.

Junglist · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:43

VincentHanna said:
At first I read it as they wanted a small child removed from the pushchair so she could get on, which in my head wasn't too bad, depending on how frequent the buses are.

Then I realised they wanted the kid out of the wheelchair! Outrageous.

Exactly how I read it! I thought it was quite a reasonable request until I saw everyone else agreeing with OP and had to read it again.

Stu999 · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:43

I’ve seen that situation before and usually the person trying to get on accepts the situation, even when there are two pushchairs already on.

Edit - that’s on a route where the busses are fairly frequent though.

Sudden · 27 Oct 2023 at 14:52

Resident said:
It's actually written into our "Terms & Conditions of Carriage" that the space MUST be made available for a wheelchair user however in practice we're also bound by company policy not to create a conflict so we can't really enforce it.

In this instance the W/C was already on board so it was easier to deal with but I have in the past refused to continue the journey if they didn't move out of the space. Turning the engine off and making it the other passengers problem tends to work.

My dad's in a wheelchair and there have been a few instances where they've been pushchairs on the bus already. My mom who is usually with him would just wait for the next bus/go to a quieter stop instead. Had no idea this rule existed and never heard of any of the drivers try and see if they can get on. Though this has typically happened in/near oxford street which is horrendously busy anyway and buses are fairly regular.

GreatAuk · 27 Oct 2023 at 15:17

Shocking lack of consideration

. Particularly with frequent services so not like she'd be standing in the cold for an hour.

Maybe she could get a folding pushchair if she wants to guarantee getting on the bus, it's considerably easier and more dignified to fold up a pushchair and carry / sit with an infant than it is to take a kid out of a wheelchair!

Uther · 27 Oct 2023 at 15:18

Most people are nice decent human beings, unfortunately the far fewer horrible scumbags really do stand out.

Resident · 27 Oct 2023 at 15:19

m@rty said:
Just tell her to wait for the next chav wagon

She was told by myself that she would need to use another operators service (Both Stagecoach and First operate that stop) as she was no longer welcome on ours.

haaammit said:
Unbelievable!
Out of interest, can you take an additional pushchair, but folded up with the child sat on a normal seat, or is it literally 1 wheelchair 1 pushchair regardless of if they're occupied or not?

It depends on the vehicle as some have older designs and can't accommodate any pushchairs if the wheelchair space is taken. The general rule is 2 pushchairs (unfolded) or one pushchair and one wheelchair. A 3rd pushchair can be carried IF folded and stored in the luggage area. A double pushchair/pram combo thingy counts as 2 because they are usually on the large side.

We can only carry one wheelchair though as the space needs a padded backboard and there aren't any practical options to fit a 2nd (at this time). Due to this unfortunately there have been instances where I have had to refuse carriage of a 2nd W/C but we have a procedure in place where we contact control and they contact and reserve the space on the next vehicle. It generally only happens on high freq routes so the wait time isn't much

The issue is that pushchairs these days in general is that they're either large or parents use them as shopping carts so folding them is near impossible and time consuming.

Sudden said:
My dad's in a wheelchair and there have been a few instances where they've been pushchairs on the bus already. My mom who is usually with him would just wait for the next bus/go to a quieter stop instead. Had no idea this rule existed and never heard of any of the drivers try and see if they can get on. Though this has typically happened in/near oxford street which is horrendously busy anyway and buses are fairly regular.

It's not a general industry rule, just something our company put in place, more for appeasement than practical application

Diddums · 27 Oct 2023 at 15:42

Sounds like your average British encounter on public transport.

Funnily enough we arrived in Berlin on Tuesday and I still remarked to my wife that certain stickers on the trains would help so much in England, they make it very clear that wheelchairs > prams > bicycles.

Will post a pic later, getting on a train soon.

Chris Wilson · 27 Oct 2023 at 15:43