Should wheelchair users get priority over a baby in a pushchair?

[adelekeegan1]

Aye we have found the same too. Would cost us at least 6 quid to get a return into town for the two of us; even factoring in the cost of parking, it's cheaper to drive!
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That is awful, I had assumed, obviously wrongly, that wheelchair users (like the elderly) would be exempt from bus fares.

 

[Ruth Mills]

That is awful, I had assumed, obviously wrongly, that wheelchair users (like the elderly) would be exempt from bus fares.

Not necessarily; I think it might be possible for Sonia to get a bus pass; we would need to look into it. But probably not much point if we are going to use the wheelchair accessible minibus from now on instead (although we have had issues with parking that in the past, as it is a hi-top and lots of car parks have height restrictions)...
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[Ruth Mills]

That is just disgusting...I really don't know how anyone could be like that.
Some people are just so vile...

My mum has had to use a wheelchair a lot...electric and manual and fortunately never ever has she come across rude people and I never saw it when I pushed her around...everyone was always helpful.

I think my mouth would have got me in trouble if I had ever encountered anything like you have...

Well, we have had issues in the past with people abusing disabled parking spaces when they obviously didn't need them (no disabled badge, and everyone we saw getting in/out of the car was fit and able bodied). A bit annoying when there are no other spaces left (disabled or otherwise).

Sonia did, however, see someone advertising some stickers with super-strong adhesive online, bearing the words "Stupidity is not a disability. Please leave this parking space for someone who actually needs it". I'd quite like to see someone trying to get one of those off their brand new car that they've illegally parked in a disabled parking space :green:
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[mercedes69]

Well, we have had issues in the past with people abusing disabled parking spaces when they obviously didn't need them (no disabled badge, and everyone we saw getting in/out of the car was fit and able bodied). A bit annoying when there are no other spaces left (disabled or otherwise).

Sonia did, however, see someone advertising some stickers with super-strong adhesive online, bearing the words "Stupidity is not a disability. Please leave this parking space for someone who actually needs it". I'd quite like to see someone trying to get one of those off their brand new car that they've illegally parked in a disabled parking space :green:
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My mum has a disabled badge and oh my word how it drives her ( and me when I am with her ) barmy....

I cannot believe the cheek of some people who use the disabled parking spaces...
those stickers sound like a brilliant idea but I fear the person putting the sticker on the windscreen would get prosecuted more than the driver using the disabled space!!!

I know of one place in my local (UK) area that clamps non-badge holders using a blue badge parking space...and they clamp you quicker than you can whistle...
there is a restaurant right alongside the spaces...and the fun to watch them being clamped and the drivers astonishment is a joy to behold :lol:

However the majority of the time, although there are signs warning drivers not to park without a blue badge, they get away with it because no-one seems to give a ****!!!! The carpark owners or the drivers!

Oh well that was slighty going off the thread :lol:
and I would have thought you were exempt from paying bus fares like Adele says...

 

[Ruth Mills]

I know of one place in my local (UK) area that clamps non-badge holders using a blue badge parking space...and they clamp you quicker than you can whistle...
there is a restaurant right alongside the spaces...and the fun to watch them being clamped and the drivers astonishment is a joy to behold :lol:

Yay, good on them!!! As long as they'd let you off if you had accidentally forgotten to take your badge with you, and you came back to the car in your wheelchair...

 

[Deena]

I can see both sides of the coin here, having been a mum with a pushchair and also regularly pushing a wheelchair. It isn't easy for anyone. :hug: Thinking back over the years, I've generally found most people to be helpful to both sectors of the community but I suspect wheelchair users have had the edge, in my experience.

Many have, do and will continue to need their wheelchairs as a means of accessing the community lifelong. I don't like to think of it as competition regarding superior 'Need,' but issues such as people using a blue badge holder's right to parking facilities close to amenities really does get to me. It has precluded me, on more than one occasion, from parking at all and having to leave, with a disappointed wheelchair user in tow. So thoughtless and inconsiderate. :irked:

 

[VHunter]

However, it's generally not possible for electric wheelchairs to be folded up so readily; so if a person was in an electric wheelchair and needed to travel on the bus, then the wheelchair space would be a necessity for them.

Yes, and thats why I emphasized that not all could do it, but many could.
I think its sad that bus companies haven't fully recognized they need to provide more access for the challenged individuals.

, also it kind of disgusted me that not one person offered their help because I know if I saw ANYONE struggling I would not think twice to try and assist them, it just goes to show there is a lack of community now!!:irked: :hug:

and this is the crux of things.... our communities are now full of very self absorbed and selfish individuals with nary a thought for their neighbor.
How do we change this? By changing ourselves and people will react to it. It's been proven that those on the reeiving end of a random act of kindness, will go out and do the same.
We, have a long way to go to better society. Tehnology has stolen a lot from us... making things impersonal. We need to add back the 'personal'

You have to practically beg/demand help at times, people can be unhelpful if given the choice. lol
I've passed my babies over the bus steering wheel to the bus driver, otherwise i couldnt have got on,
I've passed babies to random old ladies too, they love it though!

People just need to help eachother more.

& if someone needs extra space to get their wheelchair on, well we should flippin' well move, & that includes those of us pram-pushers.

Yes.. we do

Well, we have had issues in the past with people abusing disabled parking spaces when they obviously didn't need them (no disabled badge, and everyone we saw getting in/out of the car was fit and able bodied). A bit annoying when there are no other spaces left (disabled or otherwise).

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OMG dont get me started on parking spaces... Dad had to get a specially customized mini van because they dont make two-door cars with bench seats ( so he could turn sideways and put chair behind him).
On his van. a ramp drops at the side so he can disembark. He struggles often to find a space big enough.

A young mother down my street, seen walking her two dogs daily (fat labradors) has a sticker on her car. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH HER LEGS!!!!!! pisses me off royally! If I knew where to report her, I WOULD!!!

 

[minky]

Minky you are always a woman of wise words.

I think it would be a hard struggle for a lady with a new born who was asleep in the pram to take out and fold up. But i think a child who is awake then yes wheelchair priority should be given.

Hugs to :hug: you Violet , usually comes with age lol x

Plus it's even harder with with a new born a buggy and other children in tow too
plus the fact that lenniob mentioned about a prosthetic leg .... which under clothing would be hidden away , but this in itself may be a hinder to anyones mobility at times .... so I can understand how it may be more difficult to be folding down pushchairs ect with another little child to keep from running away as well as holding on to the baby .....

I think most of us would rather avoid public transport with buggies toddlers and and babys , but there are times when we have to use it,

for the times I had no choice but to use public transport with my babies and little ones , it was an absolute nightmare and had to be planned with military precision

I used a baby sling for the baby and have the buggy folded and ready to go in the hold before getting on the bus, I found really helped a lot
I used to tell the driver I would come back and pay him once I had put the buggy away and settled the other little children in their seats

I always made sure the kids and myself got on together and got off together ,
Then I always used to ask someone to help me with the buggy before I got on and when I got off :green:
there was always a kind soul there who would help out

I think there is lots of room for improvement for buggies and wheelchairs ect.... but as everyone else has said "we need to help each other more too",

strangely enough .. I always found the nicest looking little white haired old ladys... were the rudest of all :irked: they would sit there tutting , huffing and puffing and look at thier watches and shout " we havent got all day you know!...
some people and thier selfishness never ceases to amaze me ,

:hug: x minky

 

[nikinoodle]

I think this has been such a good thread and made me think about my situation from the other side, I was unlucky and could not really do anything about my experience but am now aware that given any random circumstance like that again (although hopefully not me with the pushchair:lol:, I have done my bit & would have my husband in for the SNIP anytime!!)
I would help & try to make things easier for a mother /wheelchair user/elderly or anyone else who needed help, I just think a few more people in society should be reminded & not be so self absorbed!!. :hug::hug:

 

[Ruth Mills]

A young mother down my street, seen walking her two dogs daily (fat labradors) has a sticker on her car. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH HER LEGS!!!!!! pisses me off royally! If I knew where to report her, I WOULD!!!

If it's an "official" disabled badge (issued by the authorities), then it could be that she has a "hidden" disability; I've known of people having disabled badges because of medical conditions such as a colostomy (someone we used to know was a police officer and got shot in the stomach and had to have a colostomy because of his injuries, and was registered disabled as a result), so there's a lot more to disability than "obviously" visible disabilities (e.g. use of a wheelchair or crutches etc)...

 

[mcmog]

That's true, but I know of someone who has a disabled badge for his car (and always parks in the disabled bays) - he plays football with my OH and has done every week for the last five years! why exactly does he need that parking permit? It's not like someone with, for example, ME or arthritis, or Ruth's friend, who could appear able-bodied but is only able to walk short distances or needs to get access to facilities quickly. Many places only have a few bays for disabled parking and he must so often take a space from someone who geniunely needs it.
Why are people so inconsiderate? ARGH!

 

[Ruth Mills]

That's true, but I know of someone who has a disabled badge for his car (and always parks in the disabled bays) - he plays football with my OH and has done every week for the last five years! why exactly does he need that parking permit? It's not like someone with, for example, ME or arthritis, or Ruth's friend, who could appear able-bodied but is only able to walk short distances or needs to get access to facilities quickly. Many places only have a few bays for disabled parking and he must so often take a space from someone who geniunely needs it.
Why are people so inconsiderate? ARGH!

Yep - the ones who annoy me the most are the able-bodied geriatrics who think it's their right to a disabled badge just because they are old (even though they can walk just fine), and then when you turn up, there's nowhere left to park that you can fit a wheelchair in at the side door!
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[Princess*laura]

definatly not!

 

[lilly]

I had to use a bus on several occasions when my children were young, I had to struggle with getting baby twins out of a push chair, fold the pushchair and look out for my 3 year old daughter all at the same time, it was almost impossible, I should think just as hard as getting a disabled person out of a chair and onto a bus?

I think its 50/50 who should get priority if any ?

 

[Ruth Mills]

I had to use a bus on several occasions when my children were young, I had to struggle with getting baby twins out of a push chair, fold the pushchair and look out for my 3 year old daughter all at the same time, it was almost impossible, I should think just as hard as getting a disabled person out of a chair and onto a bus?

I think its 50/50 who should get priority if any ?

Aye, the old buses (where there are large steps and probably a big hand rail half way through the entrance to the bus too) are impossible to get a wheelchair in, and would likely be an assault course for parents with pushchairs too!

Thankfully, the modern accessible buses have a wide entry door with no stupid handrail blocking the middle of it, and reasonably level access too (they often have a ramp that slides out or folds out for wheelchairs), so they would hopefully be just as good for prams and pushchairs too.

And surely the bus designers should also factor in enough space for at least a couple of wheelchairs at once, or a wheelchair and a couple of prams, to reduce the chance of "contention issues" as to who gets the space...
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[mercedes69]

Aye, the old buses (where there are large steps and probably a big hand rail half way through the entrance to the bus too) are impossible to get a wheelchair in, and would likely be an assault course for parents with pushchairs too!

Thankfully, the modern accessible buses have a wide entry door with no stupid handrail blocking the middle of it, and reasonably level access too (they often have a ramp that slides out or folds out for wheelchairs), so they would hopefully be just as good for prams and pushchairs too.

And surely the bus designers should also factor in enough space for at least a couple of wheelchairs at once, or a wheelchair and a couple of prams, to reduce the chance of "contention issues" as to who gets the space...
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Thats a good point Ruth...

but to be honest...I have never encountered many wheelchair users on buses.
I guess the difficulty they experience probably puts them off to be honest...
but then the area I am from has a lot of 'mobility' vans/buses run by the local councils and I do see a lot of them on the roads and in towns.
My mum was offered one to use when she had her leg done...plus it was free to use! They would pick you up from your house and take you wherever you wanted-great service if you ask me.

I do think however a lot of pushchair users ( not always the mums using them )using the bus and really what it should amount to is community spirit...LEND A HAND if you can...

It shouldn't be down to either/or ..... everyone should have equal access and if needed a helping hand...xxxxx

 

[Ruth Mills]

but then the area I am from has a lot of 'mobility' vans/buses run by the local councils and I do see a lot of them on the roads and in towns.
My mum was offered one to use when she had her leg done...plus it was free to use! They would pick you up from your house and take you wherever you wanted-great service if you ask me.

Oh yes! We got one of those types of buses cheap off eBay back in October 2006. So Sonia has her own chauffeur-driven one any time she wants (assuming her chauffeur is around lol)...
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[VHunter]

Person in the wheel chair of course always a priority, you have a choice to have a baby, simply can't believe this was even open for discussion!!!

I can't believe that you said that, or that you're even comparing the two.

 

[Ruth Mills]

Actually, while we're at it, why don't we also berate the people who insist on parking in front of drop kerbs? Thus making it so much harder for both disabled people in wheelchairs, and mothers with prams and pushchairs, to cross the road!
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[Princess*laura]

I suppose you could allways put your baby in the carry car seats?
Im sure you get new buggys that these can fit on the buggy and in the car or be carried. That would be a good option for those that need to use public transport a lot. That way, you could fold down your buggy and baby would still be safe in its car seat.