Alder's Tone

Lothian Buses, the Council owned service in Edinburgh has come under fire recently for "banning" prams on board under the Disability Discrimination Act. They have clarified their policy on this, a copy of which is listed below. They have also issued their drivers with a pictorial guide to the various offerings of prams and buggies in order to help them comply with the company's policy.

And this is where it starts getting a little grey.

Lothian operate an old fleet, and an increasingly new fleet. There's not much middle ground, buses are either relatively old or fairly new. The older buses don't have the capability to comply with current legislation, but thankfully this is covered by "buses manufactured since 1999" clause so they can still operate them.

The newer buses have space for a wheelchair, with seats that fold down so able bodied passengers can use them when there is no chair in situ. This space is a requirement under the DDA. Lothian's policy is for this space to be used by whoever wants to use it for whatever purpose (passengers or luggage) on the proviso that this space is a priority for wheelchair users and must be given up should one require it.

Fair enough.

This differs from Virgin Trains, who categorically state on each journey that this space must not be occupied at all during the journey.

So why are we being eco-unfriendly by using the bus? Because they have banned the use of certain type of pram or buggy. Even if you are the only passenger, they will refuse to carry certain types of baby transport. Some will always be accepted, and the grey area is at driver's discretion. So what if you need to get around town? The Council got no support for congestion charging, so need to encourage the use of the bus rather than the car, right? Wrong. If you are a parent there is confusion over whether you can actually use a bus, especially if you're in that "grey area". What are you expected to do? Let the first bus go because the driver said no, wait in the hope the next driver says yes? Or just use the car and be done with it?

That's right, jump in your Land Cruiser and screw the environment. And Edinburgh Council wonders why their citizens use the car. Because their bus service is mince, that's why. HM Government are trying to get us to decide on what car to buy based on their interpretation of the impact to the environment, I never thought we'd be told the same about prams and buggies too!

Here's Lothian's policy, lifted from their website today, along with a link to the graphic issued to drivers.

There are specific legal requirements placed on bus operators regarding the carriage of wheelchairs. The law requires all new buses (since 1999) to be wheelchair accessible, and lays down precise details of the dimensions and features of bus construction to allow wheelchairs, up to a certain size to be carried on buses.

There is no legal requirement regarding buses providing for the carriage of prams, buggies, or any "baby or toddler transport device". The primary reason for there being a wheelchair space on buses is to allow wheelchair users to travel on the bus.

Our policy can be summarised as -

• wheelchairs have priority;
• if the wheelchair space is not required for a wheelchair, anything/one else can occupy the space;
• but only on the understanding that they vacate the space if it is subsequently required for a wheelchair.

This means that whatever is occupying the wheelchair space, be it standing passengers, passengers sitting on the "tip-up" seats located in the wheelchair space, suitcases, bulky luggage or any baby or toddler transport device (buggy/pushchair) etc, has to be moved out of the wheelchair space to make way for a wheelchair if a wheelchair user subsequently wishes to board. Thus whatever is in the wheelchair space has to be capable of being moved (and safely stored in the luggage rack or elsewhere) when required.

This policy has been in place unchanged since the advent of wheelchair accessible buses some 9 years ago and all wheelchair accessible buses display 3 signs shown below which clearly state the requirements.

Also shown below is a copy of the illustrated guidance given to our drivers to assist them in applying the policy. This differentiates between different
types of buggy/pushchair/pram etc to show what is welcome, what is prohibited, and what falls into the sphere of "driver's discretion". In addition to the examples shown, there are a multitude of different variants of buggy/pushchair etc and, whilst both extremities of the spectrum are clear, there is inevitably a grey area in the middle, therefore a driver may well have to ask a potential passenger whether the "device" is collapsible/foldable.

The law requires Lothian Buses to have on our buses a space for the carriage of a wheelchair, and requires our staff to request non-wheelchair occupants in that space to vacate the space in the event of a wheelchair wishing to use the space.

Click here for drivers
guide to buggiesSo there we have it, Lothian's response to the back-lash that has been public concern over their policy on carrying, as they put it, "baby or toddler transport devices".

I can see a fair point on both sides, but I can also see this will just play into the hands of the yummy mummy who won't want to stand at a bus stop and watch her Bugaboo get drenched while dripping onto her Ugg boots, wondering if the next bus has room. And why should she when the X5 is on the drive? Yes, that's the sort of person that needs to encouraged to use public transport, not effectively told to buggy off. But when there's a legal requirement in place for that space to have priority (not exclusivity, priority) it should be made clear, which is what Lothian has done.

Hmm, rock, hard place.