Wheelchair user stopped from getting on bus in Bristol. (BBC News 30/04/2010)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

A disabled woman from Bristol says she was stopped from getting on a bus because she was in a wheelchair.

Irene Dawson says she was told by the driver that 'pushchairs take priority' so she had to wait nearly 30 minutes at the stop for the next bus to arrive.

"They wouldn't let me on... I just wanted to get home. I'm diabetic and needed to take my insulin," she said.

A First Bus spokesman apologised and said Mrs Dawson should have been able to make the journey she wanted to.

Mrs Dawson was returning from town with her daughter and wanted to board a bus to Stoke Bishop where she lives.

"There were two pushchairs on the bus and I was refused entry. The driver went and told the owners of the push chairs to take one of them down. Then she [the driver] looked at me and told me the pushchairs 'had more priority than a wheelchair'. I had to get off and wait for another half hour for the next bus to arrive. When I got home I called the Lawrence Hill [bus] depot and they told me 'push chairs have as much priority as a wheelchair'," she said.

First Bus Managing Director Justin Davies said the area at the front of a bus - used by both buggies and wheelchairs - was very popular.

He said: "It's all about the people who use that space taking their buggies down to allow the wheelchair passenger to get on. If there's no children in the buggy then there is absolutely no reason why it shouldn't be folded down. [But] not everyone is willing to immediately move their buggies out the way and put children onto seats and make the space available. We would like the wheelchair user to have priority on the journey."

[matt473]

The story should be more focussed on the lack of co-operation from passengers as opposed to the driver and bus company. Their hands are tied as such as if the passengers refuse to move the buggies or fold them away then what can the driver do? Remove them from the bus causing even more problems? This is a no win situation leading to the never ending debate on pushchairs in disabled spaces. All in all this unfair on First as the article is set up in a way as if they are at fault wheras in reality it goes further than that

[jester]

The very thing that happened yesterday on a St.Ives service (only a single car 153 was running) People piled on and the wheelchair space was occupied by two prams! Aside this, it was standing room only, the wheelchair only becoming apparent when the crowds had cleared. this unfortunately had to wait thirty minutes for the nect service!