Put the brakes on buses pram ban

WHO in Edinburgh has not, at some point, been left standing at a stop when it's been dark, wet and freezing because the bus is full? Did you feel discriminated against because no-one got off to let you on? Did you feel hard done by that those lucky passengers who got on just a stop earlier were now cosy inside while you were frozen to the bone and had at least another ten minutes to wait?

Did you demand legislation be introduced which stated that all those named John, or Jim or Joanne should be given priority over all other bus users? No.

And why not? Because it is public transport – the clue is in the name – and it should be able to be used by everyone on an equal, first-come-first-served basis.

So why should those unfortunate people who are in wheelchairs but who choose like many others to use the bus, be more equal? Why are they given priority over, say parents or even grandparents with prams?

No-one can deny a person in a wheelchair has as much right to be able to use the buses as anyone else – but does that mean they should have more right than a newborn baby in a pram?

According to the Disability Discrimination Acts of 1995 and 2005, public service vehicles have to ensure that it is possible for disabled persons to get on to and off buses in safety and without unreasonable difficulty (while remaining in their wheelchairs) and to be carried in such vehicles in safety and in reasonable comfort.

Nowhere does it say if someone else is in a space which can be used by a wheelchair, then they should be turfed off.

According to Lothian Buses, while the legislation may not specifically state that wheelchair users should be given priority, as there is no mention of prams or buggies at all the spirit of the law is that wheelchairs come first.

And you know it is probably right, but if the bus is full and there are standing passengers in the wheelchair space, they are not asked to get off. In fact the Public Service Vehicle Regulations (2002) states that "where other passengers are occupying the wheelchair space you should ask them to move... you do not have to let the wheelchair user aboard if the carrying capacity – seated or standing – would be exceeded... other passengers are not obliged to move and you are not expected to make them."

So why should having a baby in a pram make you a second-class citizen?

After all anti-discrimination legislation for the disabled is not there so that another group in society can be discriminated against instead.

This row between parents and Lothian Buses should not be allowed to continue to develop – a compromise based in common sense has to be reached – at least until buses are fit for 21st-century travel and more than one wheelchair or pram or buggy can get on at the same time.

Of course if a child is in a foldable buggy and someone in a wheelchair wants to board, then the buggy should be collapsed and the child held by the parent. The parent with such a buggy has to be informed that they'll be expected to do this in the event of a disabled passenger wanting to get on – and perhaps the driver could even help the parent in such an occurrence.

Where Lothian Buses has gone wrong is in implementing this blanket ban without any warning or consultation. The company says it's always been the case, but drivers have been more than willing to allow prams on in the past.

Let rigid-frame prams on, but tell the parents that they may well have to get off if a wheelchair user wants to board – but make it easy for the parent. Let their ticket be transferable so they're not having to fork out more fare money.

What there's little point suggesting (as many of our more child-unfriendly online readers have) is that parents with prams should just walk everywhere. Given that we no longer live in a society where all that we need is on our doorsteps, this is no longer practical.

Would anyone fancy walking from Leith, Portobello, or Corstorphine to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children or Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for an appointment, pushing a pram in the pouring rain because your only available transport option is now closed to you? Would you fancy having to do the same journey in a wheelchair?

It's a ridiculous choice, and the sooner Lothian Buses relaxes its rigid stance on this issue, the better.

Hairy times at salon
THERE'S an ad on the radio which claims all that's required to take the stress out of finding a hairdresser is to visit Yell.com.

I did – and there was a total of 337 in Edinburgh. Enough to make you pull your hair out with stress.

A regular hairdresser is for many women a major part of their life – the person who knows just how much they like off their fringe, or what shade of blonde is appropriate for their age. Once you've found the right one, you tend to stick with them forever – or at least until their price becomes obscene.

I have been on a hunt for such a person for the last 18 months since my previous cutter hung up her scissors. Since then I've had my hair run through the fingers of countless stylists, and always left feeling, well . . . discontented and much poorer. So much so that I've not set foot in a salon for the last six months in fear of what might happen next.

Tomorrow I'll be trying out the skills of Allan at new Haymarket salon Caldow. Hair's hoping he'll be The One.