On the way home from the Yorkshire Show, this happened:
To cut a long story short, I caught a single deck bus that had no wheelchair ramp or wheelchair space.
I think that this could have been illegal, because all single deck buses must be accessible as of 1st January 2016. This is set out in S175 of the Equality Act 2010 as explained by Regulation 3(2) of the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000.
The bus operator told me that they had to put this bus on due to a bus breaking down and others being stuck in traffic. It’s not in regular use on their bus routes. According to them, as long as the bus is used for 20 days or less each year, it is legal for the bus company to use it – even though it isn’t wheelchair accessible.
I disagree.
- it’s perfectly reasonable to expect bus services to be accessible
- it is morally reprehensible to run inaccessible services
- the bus operator bought this inaccessible bus in December 2014
- the Disability Discrimination Act, which announced the forthcoming accessibility requirement, was made in 1995
- the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations were made in 2000, and told bus companies exactly what they needed to do and when by
I’ve therefore complained to the Police, the Traffic Commissioners, North Yorkshire County Council and to West Yorkshire Metro.
By Doug Paulley
Full blog available here.
Keep up to date with Doug on Twitter @kingqueen3065
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