Wheelchairs Or Pushchairs: Who Should Take Priority On Buses? (Part 2)

[SlackAlice]

Update on an earlier thread

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-30376446


Earlier thread

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/News/Question1379089-6.html

[woofgang]

we all know joeluke does it for amusement....one day he'll grow out of it.

[DaisyNonna]

Wheelchairs.

[bazwillrun]

The basis of the Equality Act is that disable people have EQUAL rights to others. They have no precedence. If an able bodied person required access to a bus, and the bus was full, then they would have to wait for the next.

The woman with the baby had already paid - she had entered into a contract with the bus company which she had a right to expect would be fulfilled, the wheelchair user had not.

[SlackAlice]

Some interesting opinions but nothing much different to the other thread.

My opinion remains the same. Wheelchair for Disabled passengers remain a priority, but in view of the Appeal nothing concrete has emerged other than priority cannot be established without help from the public.

[-Talbot-]

Most buses I see are nowhere near full to capacity, ever.
Why not have a dedicated wheelchair place and a dedicated pushchair place?

[DaisyNonna]

Where do you live Talbot
Mot of the buses here are packed.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Right and wrong apart....if the mother does'nt pay a fare for the child/baby and the disabled person pays a fare then the disabled person should get priority.

[FrogNog]

Equality means just that.
If a pushchair user got there first then they have the right to that seat.
Would you push a disabled person off the bus to accommodate a pushchair user? No. The reverse should be the same.
That's equality.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

FN...can a non payer be equal to a payer.

[boxtops]

Wheelchairs. After the first thread, I looked next time I got on a bus. There is a clear notice saying that the provision of wheelchair space is a legal obligation, and people with pushchairs don't have a right to a space, they can be asked to fold up their buggies. Quite right too.

[FrogNog]

What does that mean Bright Spark?
The mother or father paid for the space. A disabled person does the same.
The baby isn't taking a space, the pushchair user (who has paid) is taking a bigger space, just as the wheelchair user would. The baby in the pushchair doesn't come into because they are not taking the space, the vehicle they are in is.

[FrogNog]

boxtops a court has just proved that notice to be invalid.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

FN...does the mother pay a fare for the sleeping baby in the pushchair?(I dont use buses so I dont know)

[marval]

I think wheelchairs should have priority, It is alright for pushchairs if the space is not needed.

[sherrardk]

Just a hypothetical - say I had been on a bus with the things in their buggy what would I have been expected to do if a wheelchair user had wanted to get on too (twins are a logistical nightmare).

[bhg481]

Babies don't have to pay on buses but disabled people can also get free bus travel.

[boxtops]

According to my bus, sher - take 'em out and fold up the pram.....

[FrogNog]

No she doesn't BS. Nor does a wheelchair user pay for the big wheels they have.
The pushchair is not taking a seat, it's taking a space. Whether there is even a baby in the pushchair or not is irrelevant. To make it simple. The baby is not involved.

[sherrardk]

It's kind of hard to hold two babies and fold up a buggy, know it's not the norm to have two babies but going on a bus with them would have been a nightmare.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

bhg...is the 'free' travel paid for by the government in the same way as the oap free travel?If so then payment is still being made to the bus company.