Buggies and Wheel users users

On our local buses we have four folding seats facing each other near the front of the bus these spaces fit 4 normal sized buggies not the big 4 x 4 wheel drive things some have and expect to take up all the space available,mostly around here the mums only travel a few stops !! so maybe walking would be a good idea as the shortest trip is £2.20 so much friendlier on the family budget I would think.
Personally if I had to use a wheelchair I would never expect a mum & baby to vacate space specially for me,how do I know that the parent is not taking their child to Doctors or to pick up other children from school,I would just wait for next bus or arrange a taxi but that is only my opinion.

It is not easy to lift a sleeping baby from a buggy, fold the buggy, gather shopping together and lift the whole lot on to the bus and I think it is unreasonable to expect it. I had a Silver Cross pushchair that was too large even when folded so I ended up walking everywhere, I lost so much weight I looked awful.

Buses in those days were not baby or disabled friendly Harri . I was lucky enough to have a car but it was still hard work! In those days disabled people stayed at home, as someone else said!

Dont think wheelchairs should have automatic priority- but surely, a mum with a large buggy could at least TRY to move it or fold it- even if it means a bit of inconvenience and asking for others to help out. Refusing point blank to even try is out of order in my book.

If I was in a wheelchair, much as I would want to get on the bus, I would hate a Mum and her baby to be put off the bus just for me.But if other passengers had helped, maybe both of them could have stayed.

I have been following this debate quite closely as my mum is in a wheelchair. She is unable to stand unaided. My dad doesn't drive and the bus is their only means of independent transport with the exception of an occasional (expensive) taxi in an emergency. Over the last year my mum has dealt with some awful situations using the bus. Bearing in mind my dad is no spring chicken and he is the one doing the pushing.

Bus drivers refusing to put the bus ramp down as they are in "too much of a hurry"

Bus drivers refusing to pull closer to the kerb as they are "in a hurry"

Mothers with buggies taking the space up. Mum agreeing that she was not "there first" waiting for the next bus and still not being able to get on !

I'm not sure what the solution to this is except to say that it almost is always possible to fold a buggy up and pop baby onto a knee isn't it?

I wouldn't wish being "wheelchair bound" on anyone but it could happen to any of us and those people who refuse to fold their buggy up just to be awkward (and there are plenty of them) should hope that they are not in that position in the future.

I wonder how disabled people manage on the underground - slight digression I know - because only some stations have so called stepfree access. With a buggy it is absolute hell and I can no longer manage it. As for buses I would have problems getting on a bus myself let alone holding a baby to enable me to fold up the buggy - which often has a life of its own. As for shopping as well, forget it. If the rest of Europe is on the ball why is the UK left behind - yet again!

I never travelled on buses when mine were babies, I either walked or took the car
. However for some a bus might be a lifeline , but nevertheless STILLthink it should be first come first served.
Can"t the disabled ring Dial a Ride, which for a modest amount has got to be more comfortable for them.

goldengirl- the UK is 100000x and more better equipped for disabled people. In Paris, it would be impossible for a disabled person in a wheel-chair to travel by public transport at all. If ever I was disabled again (I was in London after a serious car accident, for over 1 year until we moved to Staffs- but it was dire then)- I would move back to the UK in a jiffy, just for the better facilities for the disabled.

Nonu My son is one of "The Disabled" and can seldom get a place on Dial a ride because it is full of fit people who think they have priority on it because they are over 60. I am 74 by the way.
As others have said the wheelchair/buggy spaces are only available because wheelchair users campaigned for them even to the extent of chaining themselves to buses.

It's worth bearing in mind that on the continent the trains are actually a lot bigger than ours, which I believe are limited in size by the fact that we built our railways early and the bridges and stations are too small. There are too many bridges to make it a practical proposition to make them all higher and we would also have to make many of our station platforms longer to accommodate longer trains. That is why it is easier to get lots of bikes and wheel/push chairs on trains in other countries and why it is not always a good idea to take up a new invention before other countries have ironed out the problems for you!

I agree with granjura - I've often wondered how wheelchair-bound people get around French pavements, let alone the Paris Métro!

Nonu - using the phrase 'the disabled' explains your attitude on this thread. They are people yes funny word that people with disabilities. What century do you lve in?

And granjura you should know better as well- this debate was fought and I thought won in the 80s