Buses, buggies and wheelchairs

Yesterday I travelled to London by train, then across London by bus. This 3 buses there, and 3 buses back.

That's quite a lot of bus!

The journey out was uneventful.

The journey back was another story.

At the bus stop there was mum 1 with a buggy waiting next to me, for the same bus. We chatted a bit.

The first bus wasn't very full, and the wheels space was empty.

As she got on, she asked the driver to put the ramp down for me.

"No, sorry. We can't have a buggy and a wheelchair on the same bus."

"But we can both fit safely!"

"Nothing I can do. It's company policy."

Mum 1 started to get off the bus so I could get on, willing to stand in the cold for longer for my sake - but given that she had a young child, and I had ages before my train was due, I decided I'd wait for the next one.

I waited.

The next bus to arrive already had a buggy on. Fortunately the driver didn't bat an eyelid, let down the ramp, the mum shifted the buggy so we shared the space quite happily.

Phew!

I reached the next change-over point without problem.

The next bus arrived. I'd been communicating with mum 2 with a buggy through gestures (I'm not sure whether her English wasn't good, or she was hearing impaired, but either way: gestures worked) we were both awaiting the 29 bus, which was, at last, approaching, and fingers crossed we could both get on.

Mum 3 with a buggy was already on the bus. The ramp came down and as I went up, the driver checked which stop I wanted to get off. Being me, I couldn't remember! It was half an hour away and I'd planned to check my phone to remind myself once I was on the bus. I settled into my space without problem - the buggy was moved to let me in.

As we drove off I realised that I'd inadvertently left mum 2 at the stop. I felt bad. Disappointed for her, and hoping that she and her child wouldn't get too cold. I didn't hear anyone ask mum 3 if she could fold her buggy, nor asking mum 2 that same question.

3 minutes later at another stop, the driver popped back to where I was sat and checked which stop I was headed for. I'd worked it out by this time, so I could answer.

All was going well.

Until 10 minutes later he pops his head around my corner again "I'm really sorry. Our schedule has been changed and we have to terminate at Mornington Crescent -a few stops before you want to get off. Will you be OK from there?"

I checked the route of my next bus - it had a stop 20m from our terminating stop, so it was actually fine. But it was really nice - and reassuring - that he took the time to check I would be OK rather than just kicking me off. Looking back though I feel a bit strange. He treated me so well - as a disabled person I was clearly high priority - which is a big change from the second-rate treatment we often get (access to posh venues through the bin stores, being a speaker at an event where they forget to make the stage accessible, being treated as if asking for access is a nuisance etc), but at the same time we'd left mum 2 behind, and the same effort hadn't gone into finding a solution for her.

I was left thinking:
1. What really is the policy/procedure for carrying buggies and wheelchairs on London buses? Can they take more than one at once? The variation between drivers means the policy isn't clearly understood by them all. And if it really does only allows one buggy OR one wheelchair, it's a bit daft (I say this as a retired Environmental Health Officer, qualified to enforce health and safety in various places, as well as a wheelchair user.)
2. Being left at a bus stop because a small child is in your space sucks.
3. Leaving a small child out in the cold because you are in the space they need also sucks.

Yes, driver training might help, but I think perhaps what will help most is a pragmatic and practical policy based on 'how can we safely fit the maximum number of wheelchairs AND buggies onto our buses'. Not 'which takes priority', but 'how can we take everyone.'

Except at rush hour when the bus is fit to burst and people have to be left behind -wheels or not. Then, perhaps, the answer is more buses at that time of day.






Comments

  1. Our local buses have wheelchair and buggy spaces. so potentially no problem. However I've been on a bus when someone in a wheelchair wanted to get on but there were two large buggies in the wheelchair space already. The driver didn't ask them to fold the buggies so the wheelchair user had to wait for the next bus.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yesterday there was one buggy already on the bus and a second one got on so the lady whose son uses a special buggy/wheelchair realised she wasn't going to get on and started pushing her son up the road.One lady had started to fold one buggy but there might not have been space for the bigger buggy/chair. There was another lady with a buggy also waiting but by then another bus drew up behind as one was late and so she got on that one. I hope the other lady with her son managed to get on the second bus also.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In Los Angeles the policy is that your stroller has to be folded, whether or not there's a wheelchair user. The same goes for other things like grocery carts, etc. in Santa Monica they actually have stated dimensions on the bus and your extra stuff has to be smaller than that. It's not just for the sake of fitting both moms and wheelchair users, but also for safety to make sure there aren't obstacles in the aisle. I never had a problem (except at rush hour as you pointed out) because the wheelchair space is strictly for wheelchairs and they have 2. Also you have to get tied down by this securement system, so the driver has to come and put the hooks on your wheelchair.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm dreading the day I have to wait for a bus because I can't get on with my walker. It's big and heavy and is big even when folded. Wish there was a clearer way to solve the problem. And more space on buses to store things like suitcases and buggies and walkers etc so they didnt take up the wheelchair space.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You're right about the variations between drivers. I have a scooter. Some will allow me to get on with a pram already on and I negotiate with the parent, which I don't mind as long as the parent isn't refusing to move. Some drivers will refuse to let a pram on if I'm there even if there is room for it behind me, which makes me feel bad. Some drivers refuse to let me on regardless of whether the space is occupied, but that's another issue. x

    ReplyDelete
  6. It is such a grey area isn't it? It really needn't be. My daughter has CP, at the moment she uses a standard buggy but will soon be using a SEN buggy. I had an incident where another mum asked me to fold it so she could get her pushchair on too, with her very able child in it (older than a toddler, he looked around 5) I had to show her my daughters diagnosis confirmation before she would believe me! The bus driver was no help at all.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Feel free to comment, but please note that any offensive or inappropriate comments - including advertising - will be moderated.