Buses and Blatant Discrimination- wheelchair users

foxxymynx

mspig wrote: »

Reminds me of lifts as we were in debenhams the other day on the middle floor wanting to go down, we waited for the lift with our buggy, and we waited over twenty minutes with the doors opening and the lifts full of people(only once was there a buggy in there and no wheelchairs), it was full with able bodied people who could of used the stairs or the escalators, the doors opened and closed 16 times in the twenty minutes each time full - so in the end i went and got a manager who next time the lift arrived asked those who could walk down or use the escalators to get out, so that we could get down stairs, it just shows how lazy some people are as the escalators were at the side of the lift and the stairs behind it.(i do understand that there are some who can't do the stairs or the escalators)

that's a pet hate of mine

foxxymynx

dmg24 wrote: »

Do you have an authority for this statement, or is it just a local rule?

My local companies will do their best to fit both wheelchairs and pushchairs on, but neither takes priority.

I am struggling to see discrimination as such, just bad timing?

There's usually a huge sticker at the wheelchair bay, stating that wheelchairs have priority in that area and should a wheelchair user require that space, buggies/prams should vacate it and buggies/prams should be folded up if need be. Once over people had to fold up the buggies anyway and wheelchairs couldn't get onto a bus. Wheelchairs aren't a choice, buggies/prams are - there are alternatives like slings.

calleyw

withabix wrote: »

It sounds like the wheelchair user in this case made an unnecessary journey and should really have made arrangements to ensure that his journey could be completed at the times he wanted to travel. This is no different to what an able bodied person has to do, it's just that the necessary checks are different.

I am sorry but I find rather offensive and I am able bodied person.

So you are suggesting that disabled should not be allowed to go out and have the same access to services as other people.

Perhaps you would prefer if it all disabled people sat at home all day and did not go out apart from at night with a bag over their head.

Yours


Calley

foxxymynx

robpw2 wrote: »

sorry i forgot all wheelchair users should be prevented from doing anything unless its nesscary - nothing to do with the fact hes my firend and i needed moral support at my appointment or that he is able to live his life !

Isn't it a shame that some people can't grasp that disabled people aren't dead? I'm disabled and for as long as I have a life, I'l damn well live it. I'm sure that it's just as frustrating for you seeing your friend treat like that.

withabix

robpw2 wrote: »

sorry i forgot all wheelchair users should be prevented from doing anything unless its nesscary - nothing to do with the fact hes my firend and i needed moral support at my appointment or that he is able to live his life !
you cant book wheelchair spaces on buses but your spouting rubbish any able bodied person has approximatley betwenn 27-52 seats depending on the size of the bus .

That's correct. Able bodied people have upto 52 times more seats available to them than a person in a wheelchair, so the provision for people in a wheelchair is higher than their entitlement in terms of their percentage representation within the population. This complies with or exceeds their rights not to be discriminated against.

My point was that people in a wheel chair have the same responsibility to plan their journey as an able bodied person, to ensure that they can complete it when they require to.

If the space was occupied by another wheel chair user, would you expect that person to vacate it if they were less disabled than your friend?

The OP's freind has not been discriminated against, he has just suffered from the rudeness of one bus driver.

withabix

calleyw wrote: »

I am sorry but I find rather offensive and I am able bodied person.

So you are suggesting that disabled should not be allowed to go out and have the same access to services as other people.

Perhaps you would prefer if it all disabled people sat at home all day and did not go out apart from at night with a bag over their head.

Yours


Calley

That's not what I'm suggesting.

I'm pointing out that they are not allowed to benefit from positive discrimination. They have to plan their journey just like anyone else.

withabix

robpw2 wrote: »

but your spouting rubbish .

Sorry, I forgot that it is against thr rules of MSE to disagree with the person who starts a thread. In this case, I consider that you incorrectly entitled Buses and Blatant Discrimination- wheelchair users .

There has been no evidence of blatant discrimination against a wheelchair user in the OP's first post.

pazza

withabix wrote: »

That's correct. Able bodied people have upto 52 times more seats available to them than a person in a wheelchair, so the provision for people in a wheelchair is higher than their entitlement in terms of their percentage representation within the population. This complies with or exceeds their rights not to be discriminated against.

That is correct only if the people with buggies vacate the space for a wheelchair user, which didn't happen in this case.

withabix

pazza wrote: »

That is correct only if the people with buggies vacate the space for a wheelchair user, which didn't happen in this case.

It appears from the OP's post that the buses were full. They are not permitted to carry more than a specified number of total passengers, sitting or standing, irrespective of the disability of the person wanting to get on the bus.

There is fortunately no law that requires people to be thrown off a full bus to make way for a wheelchair.

Other modes of transport are available for wheelchair users, including many taxis, however the OP chose to catch a bus.

It may even have been cheaper to book a wheelchair-capable taxi. Where I live, it is usually a fine balance in cost, if there are two or more people, between a bus and a taxi. This is one of the same reasons that car parks in towns are full - it is cheaper to drive and park than it is to take a bus, if there is more than one person.

itsmylife_2

My local bus service has signs saying that the bay area on the bus is for wheelchairs and that it must be vacated for wheelchair users. I personally fold my pram down to get on the bus now that my son is able to walk unless my little one is sleeping. I have been told on numerous occassions that I am not allowed on the bus because of there being Wheelchairs or prams on the bus and this is why I bought a pram that could be easily folded. I understand how very inconvenient it is, especially when you realise that the prams are sitting empty and the child is jumping around on the upper deck of the bus - they could have easily been folded down. I despair sometimes watching other people on the bus who have absolutely no consideration for other users. Yeah the whole bus thing is an issue for me