It has been brought to the attention of the Disability Society that the Ministry for Transport has seen fit to remove the signs from the local buses regarding the space for wheelchair users. As the Minister for Transport has made no public statement regarding this matter it can only be assumed that this is due to pressure by certain groups regarding the issue of wheelchairs and prams using the local bus service. The Disability Society has always maintained that the buses the Government chose to buy are not fit for purpose for those with disabilities particularly those with wheelchairs and disability buggies. In fact the following is quoted from the GSLP Government 2015 manifest: “When we acquired the new red EURO6 buses that are in circulation, we had a guaranteed buy back. We will exercise that guaranteed buy back so that we can once again acquire new buses that will be more accessible and usable by the elderly and disabled.” It now seems quite clear that the Government has made no attempt to exercise this guaranteed buy back despite the many complaints over the unsuitability of the buses for the disabled and the elderly. The Disability Society therefore insists that the Government not only replace said signs but go one step further and follow the example of the UK to make it compulsory for the seats in the wheelchair space to be given up should the space be needed by a passenger using a wheelchair or disability buggy. After all there are many seats available on the bus but only one space for a wheelchair. Discrimination of wheelchair and disability buggy users using our local transport system is simply not acceptable.
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