Hi everyone
We planned to take a bus from Northborough, a small village just outside Peterborough where my wife and I are staying with my daughter, sil and 3½ year old grandson. So we set off just after an early lunch for the bus stop, a 10 minute walk, me on my little motorised scooter and my wife pushing our grandson in his buggy, all wrapped up for the cold.
The bus arrived pretty much on time, my wife and grandson got on and waited until the driver put the ramp down for me, but he didn't move. " You can't get on with that" he said. Astonished, I asked him why and he said "no scooters". Well, my scooter is just a chair on wheels and is narrower than my manual wheelchair and it has been approved by TransLink, the only bus and train company in Northern Ireland which I explained to him. I have driven it onto buses in Peterborough many times, it slots neatly into the wheelchair space, as it does on all trains. I've driven it onto tubes in London also. I asked him why and he said unbelievably " Because of the battery!" I told him it's a dry cell battery, accepted by all airlines and when I remove the key, it's isolated which again is accepted by all airlines.
I then removed the battery and plonked it beside him to show it's a black solid, sealed box with no wires, no cells in sight. I then explained to him that aeroplanes allow it in their hold and he again came out with a cracker of an excuse "This isn't an aeroplane" I told him loudly that be had just given me such a ridiculous response. Then I looked around me and I told him "You know what mate, I can see it's not an aeroplane!"
By this time I had dismantled the scooter in 4 pieces as I do to put it in my car boot and I told him I was going to carry it on and he told me that I couldn't do that either. So by now my wife and grandson were on the bus, my scooter was in bits, some on the bus, some outside, the bus doors are open and I'm in the doorway so I told him he'd better ring his company because we're not going anywhere until he does and I wanted him to send a photo of my chair. I also apologised to the other passengers for a second time.
So he rang the company after he took a photo and he spoke to a lady on the other end who I could faintly hear. He asked her if motor scooters were allowed and she said no. I asked him to send the photo which he did but refused to phone again so off we got, really because I didn't want to hold the passengers back. I shouted about disability discrimination a couple of times as we alighted.
My wife was ready to go back to our daughter's but I said there was another bus in 10 minutes, we'll try our luck. So the next bus came and the driver looked concerned but I explained that it's approved for another bus company and as soon as he saw the approved sticker he said that was fine with him and he put the ramp down and we all got on, no problem. He was a lovely bloke and understood that some scooters are fine and some are so big it's impossible for them to travel down the bus.
Before we returned, I phoned the bus company and spoke to the lady that the driver had spoken to and she asked me to hold on, she was going to put me through to the manager. I explained who I was and he apologised so much and said that once he saw the photo, he knew straightaway that the driver should have allowed me to board, on the scooter.
When our bus home arrived at the bus station, the doors opened and the driver never batted an eyelid, lowered the ramp and we boarded, no problem.
I'm going to ring the manager soon and suggest that his company does what TransLink at home does, they individually review each scooter and give allowed scooters the sticker of approval.
I'm also deliberating if I should highlight the situation with the aid of the local newspaper, what do you think? Any other suggestions?
Tvman x
