1,000 signatures reached
To: Department for transport
Make the vacation of wheelchair spaces on public transport a legal requirement.
Make it a legal requirement that all wheelchair spaces on all public transport must be vacated by non wheelchair users.
Why is this important?
The recent case of Doug Paulley vs First Group ended with the judges ruling that the wheelchair spaces on buses do not need to be vacated by persons refusing to do so. Effectively they have ruled that persons using wheelchairs may be discriminated against by those who feel it is too much trouble to fold away a pushchair, or simply move to another seat. This throws the whole situation into confusion.
The majority of persons using wheelchairs are doing so because they are not able to stand for long periods, if at all, and do not have the luxury of being able to fold their wheelchair away while on public transport. Able bodied persons can stand, pushchairs can be folded, and infants carried. Refusing to vacate the more easily accessible areas on buses and trains is discriminating against those who are physically unable to reach the other areas, and must be made an offence. There is no excuse for a wheelchair user to be denied transport in a situation where it is physically possible to accommodate them should other users show consideration. The current regulations are too woolly, and the manner in which they can be interpreted leaves them open to rulings such as the above, which renders them effectively null and void.
