TRANSPORT giant FirstGroup must do more to ensure disabled travellers can board its buses, the Supreme Court has ruled.
Wheelchair user Doug Paulley took the Aberdeen-based firm to court after he was left on the pavement when a woman with a pram refused to move from the designated wheelchair area of a bus.
The incident, which took place in February 2012, occurred while Paulley was trying to board a 9.40am service from Wetherby to Leeds to catch a train and meet his parents for lunch.
The bus driver asked the woman to move, but she refused, saying the pram would not fold down, despite a sign stating: “Please give up this space if needed for a wheelchair user”.
At the time, FirstGroup’s policy was of “requesting but not requiring’’ non-disabled travellers to leave the space.
Yesterday the UK Supreme Court ruled this was inadequate and drivers must consider taking further steps to “pressurise” reluctant passengers to move, even refusing to drive on where appropriate.
Paulley, whose victory was welcomed by other wheelchair users, said: “I am absolutely delighted. It has been a long fight. We have achieved something really substantial here which will make a difference to people who need the wheelchair space, not just wheelchair users but other disabled people.
“This is important – a significant cultural change.”
Court president Lord Neuberger said: “It was not enough for FirstGroup to instruct its drivers simply to request non-wheelchair users to vacate the space and do nothing if the request was refused.
“The approach of the driver must depend upon the circumstances, but where the refusal is unreasonable, some further step to pressurise the non-wheelchair user to move should be considered.
“A refusal to drive on should be considered in appropriate cases.”
The Supreme Court date followed a string of lower court hearings and appeals.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which supported Paulley’s legal battle, described it as “a victory for disabled people’s rights” which would “give confidence to thousands of disabled people in Britain to use public transport”.
Chairman David Isaac said: “This has been about correcting a confusing policy which has caused untold problems for disabled people.”
Penny Mordaunt, Minister for Disabled People, Work and Health, said: “It is clear that it should not just be up to the disabled passenger to get a person to move out of the space, but the transport provider too.”
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