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Call to clarify and strengthen the law around wheelchair priority

Transport for All

As many of you will know, we have been supporting Doug Paulley, who was victorious in bringing his case on wheelchair priority to the UK Supreme Court...

As many of you will know, we have been supporting Doug Paulley, who was victorious in bringing his case on wheelchair priority to the UK Supreme Court. This was after he was denied access to one of First Bus Group’s buses because a bus driver didn’t enforce priority in the wheelchair space and a buggy owner refused to make room for him.
The court decided in favour of Doug, however their judgment does not go far enough. It basically reminded bus drivers they had the power to ask people to vacate the wheelchair priority area but acknowledged they did not have the power to act if a passenger refused.

We need your support

TfA and Doug Paulley are now calling on Parliament to clarify and strengthen the law around wheelchair priority.
The Bus Services Bill, which will legislate for the bus franchising process outside London, is going through Parliament. This offers a rare opportunity to change the law around wheelchair priority. Doug has launched a petition, calling on the Government to take action on wheelchair priority, please sign today to ensure that the voices of Disabled and older people are heard by Parliament.

 
Click here to sign the petition

Situation in London

The decision has had some positive impact. A few weeks ago, Transport for London (TfL) distributed a poster around bus garages, stations, their customer service centre and the driver intranet outlining the Supreme Court’s recommendation. The poster (pictured below) outlines the steps bus drivers must take to promote wheelchair priority.The poster says: “Important message after the ruling by the Supreme Court on the wheelchair priority space – Following the ruling by the Supreme Court asking someone to move out of the wheelchair priority area is not enough if they initially refuse. If buggy users or other customers refuse to move or share, you must explain they are required to make space for a wheelchair user.

You must do your best to encourage others to make space for the wheelchair user. If you made several attempts but cannot make space, tell the wheelchair user plus contact your controller to tell them exactly what you did and to arrange for the driver of the next bus to be made aware. Further guidance will be issued in the next few weeks.“ 

This is a step forward but we think that TfL could have gone further (e.g. ask bus drivers to refuse to move if a passengers do not vacate the wheelchair priority space). 

 

Transport for London told us that the Bus driver training was also immediately updated in light of the judgement. The drivers are now being briefed on the ruling and the actions they must take to ensure that they enforce wheelchair priority and practice this in a role play section of the training. 

Some wheelchair and mobility scooter users are still struggling to access buses

A number of our members have reported that their situation has improved since the judgement but we still hear regularly of wheelchair and mobility scooter users being denied access to bus. Some examples have hit the headlines recently.

A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt. A man standing in front of a painted brick wall smiling at the camera. He is holding a cane and is wearing glasses, a black jacket and a grey t-shirt.

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We can't do this without your support. Take action, give what you can, or sign up as a member - and join our movement of disabled people fighting for a better future.