Are drivers of wheelchair-friendly buses allowed to do this?

last SG · 2009-03-06T20:54:37+00:00

PIWs are people too. but in singapore, it is not up to the BCs to allow them board the WAB buses of a service but instead the bus company. if the BCs were gi...

Kuali Baba SG

I boarded SBS8371C (Service 54, towards Bishan), which was a wheelchair-friendly Scania. I apologise if I got the license number wrong.

Halfway through the journey, there was a female passenger who had a wheelchair-bound son. They wanted to board the bus, having waited half an hour, but the driver said no, that the bus was either not meant to take wheelchairs or it had somehow become unable to. A group of teens at the bus stop started kicking up a fuss, and then the driver showed that he kept the wheelchair sign for the windscreen in the driver side to reiterate his point.

The woman went to the rear exit of the bus, while I asked what the driver was saying in Malay to get himself out, and how he could say such a thing. The back doors were still open and another passenger deployed the ramp for her. All this time the driver argued with the teens but never moved more than a yard away from his seat.

I don't approve of the verbal abuse and pounding that the group did, I was appalled by what the driver did. I spoke to the woman and she said (calmly but sadly) that drivers of the similar SMRT buses had also driven away when they saw her son. She received no reply when she asked for an explanation from the management. Another women muttered that the driver was probably "lazy".

Without taking any of those words at face value, let me check with you guys:

- if drivers of handicapped buses are allowed to remove the wheelchair graphic from the windscreen or refuse handicapped passengers (how could such a simple manual folding ramp fail anyway);

- if they are taught to step out, deploy the ramp, and place the wheelchairs properly (facing the rear); and

- if I got the license number right.

(Edited for accuracy in second point in bold)

Copied from my subsequent posts:

So the route isn't WAB-certified. Then...

- And what business has SBS in deploying such a bus on this route when it could be used for a real WAB route?

- Above all, where is the flexibility and compassion, or are we just following law?

There's also an arrogant presumption on the part of the two bus companies that the message has been made sufficiently clear to everyone.

sinicker SG

this is a case of wheelchair-friendly bus but not wheelchair-friendly bus service.

Oceane SG

I boarded SBS8371C (Service 54, towards Bishan), which was a wheelchair-friendly Scania. I apologise if I got the license number wrong.

Halfway through the journey, there was a female passenger who had a wheelchair-bound son. They wanted to board the bus, having waited half an hour, but the driver said no, that the bus was either not meant to take wheelchairs or it had somehow become unable to. A group of teens at the bus stop started kicking up a fuss, and then the driver showed that he had taken out and kept the wheelchair sign on the windscreen to reiterate his point.

Without taking any of those words at face value, let me check with you guys:

- if drivers of handicapped buses are allowed to remove the wheelchair graphic from the windscreen or refuse handicapped passengers (how could such a simple manual folding ramp fail anyway);

- if they are taught to step out, deploy the ramp, and place the wheelchairs properly (facing the rear); and

- if I got the license number right.

1. If the bus arrived with the wheelchair sign still stuck to the windscreen and then the driver proceeded to remove it, then the driver or I should say the management is at fault.

2. If not, then the driver has the right to refuse entry to the wheelchair-bound person because Svc 54 isn't a WAB service (and why the heck are they waiting for Svc 54 anyway since it isn't WAB).

3. SMRT has no WAB services yet; which means they have the right to refuse entry to wheelchair personnel.

4. The driver should have driven the bus away instead of letting the fuss continue.

5. The teens as well as the woman who actually helped deploy the ramp are idiots. Screw them. The driver has a schedule to follow and these people are delaying travelling time for the rest of the people by creating unnecessary noise. Shame on them for being so inconsiderate. If they want to help jolly well help on a service that's certified WAB.

6. I repeat; Svc 54 isn't a WAB service, so if the woman and her wheelchair-bound son are waiting and expecting a bus to pick them up, they can wait till the cows come home.

7. You don't have the right to ask the driver why he said no, it's supposed to be no anyway, so what if he said no?

8. You probably got the rego right.

9. The woman who called the driver "lazy" is stupid herself. The driver isn't being lazy; he's only following specific protocol given to him when he drives the Scania buses.

10. Drivers are allowed to remove the WAB decal if it was accidentally put on; the service isn't certified WAB so all the more the drivers should remove it.

11. Yes they have been taught to deploy the ramps, but in the case of a non-WAB service, they cannot deploy unless given permission. No means no.

Need I say more?

Kuali Baba SG

To add on, aren't the bollards at some the bus stops wide enough for a wheelchair to pass through? The driver didn't have the decency to ask which stop she was alighting anyway.

Powered_By_CNG SG

Oceane, I am totally appauled by your attitude towards this matter.

In Australia, we have what is known as "Anti-Discrimination Policies". People with disabilities (let's not use the derrogatory term "handicapped" please - this may offend some people) have equal rights where applicable and/or practicable as people without disabilities.

In addition, the driver's actions of removing the International Disability sign from the windscreen of his bus is an act of vandalism and should be treated by the management of the bus company as such. Refusing a passenger in a wheelchair should be a sackable offense.

While I don't condone the actions of the other passengers in this instant, I am at least happy that there are some people with the right attitude towards people with disabilities in Singapore.

Regards,
Dave

service_238 SG

1. If the bus arrived with the wheelchair sign still stuck to the windscreen and then the driver proceeded to remove it, then the driver or I should say the management is at fault.

2. If not, then the driver has the right to refuse entry to the wheelchair-bound person because Svc 54 isn't a WAB service (and why the heck are they waiting for Svc 54 anyway since it isn't WAB).

3. SMRT has no WAB services yet; which means they have the right to refuse entry to wheelchair personnel.

4. The driver should have driven the bus away instead of letting the fuss continue.

6. I repeat; Svc 54 isn't a WAB service, so if the woman and her wheelchair-bound son are waiting and expecting a bus to pick them up, they can wait till the cows come home.

7. You don't have the right to ask the driver why he said no, it's supposed to be no anyway, so what if he said no?

8. You probably got the rego right.

9. The woman who called the driver "lazy" is stupid herself. The driver isn't being lazy; he's only following specific protocol given to him when he drives the Scania buses.

10. Drivers are allowed to remove the WAB decal if it was accidentally put on; the service isn't certified WAB so all the more the drivers should remove it.

11. Yes they have been taught to deploy the ramps, but in the case of a non-WAB service, they cannot deploy unless given permission. No means no.

Need I say more?

This is what we get when we have an ever so rigid system in this country, not just the company alone per se.

simnatic SG

1. If the bus arrived with the wheelchair sign still stuck to the windscreen and then the driver proceeded to remove it, then the driver or I should say the management is at fault.

2. If not, then the driver has the right to refuse entry to the wheelchair-bound person because Svc 54 isn't a WAB service (and why the heck are they waiting for Svc 54 anyway since it isn't WAB).

3. SMRT has no WAB services yet; which means they have the right to refuse entry to wheelchair personnel.

4. The driver should have driven the bus away instead of letting the fuss continue.

6. I repeat; Svc 54 isn't a WAB service, so if the woman and her wheelchair-bound son are waiting and expecting a bus to pick them up, they can wait till the cows come home.

7. You don't have the right to ask the driver why he said no, it's supposed to be no anyway, so what if he said no?

8. You probably got the rego right.

9. The woman who called the driver "lazy" is stupid herself. The driver isn't being lazy; he's only following specific protocol given to him when he drives the Scania buses.

10. Drivers are allowed to remove the WAB decal if it was accidentally put on; the service isn't certified WAB so all the more the drivers should remove it.

11. Yes they have been taught to deploy the ramps, but in the case of a non-WAB service, they cannot deploy unless given permission. No means no.

Need I say more?

Is there even any regulation that buses with the WAB sticker only can take wheelchair passengers? From another perspective, all the new buses have the Wheelchair Help button on the outside of the exit doors, thus since that thing is permanent, it is a certified wheelchair accessible bus.

If the bus has the facilities: the ramp and the seat belts, there should be no problem in the bus carrying the wheelchair. The way you seem to worship the WAB sticker simply amazes me. I've personally seen several SMRT Buses carrying wheelchair bound passengers even though they are not "WAB Services" as i quote. Refusing a passenger onto the bus, especially in this case a child and his mother, is simply a repulsive act.

I do agree that the passenger should have known better, but the majority of your comments simply reflect this community and SBS Transit as one that is insensitive, discriminatory and inflexible - it is simply sad.

^tamago^ SG

1. The wheelchair logo was not supposed to be on the windscreen of that bus because Service 54 is not cleared to carry passengers-in-wheelchair.

2. The bus being permanent on a non-WAB service, it is the rule rather the exception that it will never be issued the wheelchair logo. If the driver had kept to his seat all the while, I assume he did not take out the wheelchair logo as you have asserted but merely shown that the wheelchair logo was not there.

3. When the passengers took things onto their hands, the driver, without clearance from OCC, could be reprimanded for carrying a PIW, because he is not trained to handle a PIW at all and this can be dangerous for everyone involved.

Kuali Baba SG

1. If the bus arrived with the wheelchair sign still stuck to the windscreen and then the driver proceeded to remove it, then the driver or I should say the management is at fault.

2. If not, then the driver has the right to refuse entry to the wheelchair-bound person because Svc 54 isn't a WAB service (and why the heck are they waiting for Svc 54 anyway since it isn't WAB).

3. SMRT has no WAB services yet; which means they have the right to refuse entry to wheelchair personnel.

4. The driver should have driven the bus away instead of letting the fuss continue.

6. I repeat; Svc 54 isn't a WAB service, so if the woman and her wheelchair-bound son are waiting and expecting a bus to pick them up, they can wait till the cows come home.

7. You don't have the right to ask the driver why he said no, it's supposed to be no anyway, so what if he said no?

8. You probably got the rego right.

9. The woman who called the driver "lazy" is stupid herself. The driver isn't being lazy; he's only following specific protocol given to him when he drives the Scania buses.

10. Drivers are allowed to remove the WAB decal if it was accidentally put on; the service isn't certified WAB so all the more the drivers should remove it.

11. Yes they have been taught to deploy the ramps, but in the case of a non-WAB service, they cannot deploy unless given permission. No means no.

Need I say more?

Yup, that leaves more questions than answers:

- Please explain to laymen what WAB stands for and means - and how do you get drivers to explain it to the ignorant.

- Where do people go to find out (other than in cyberspace) which services are WAB, and if there are pamphlets at hospitals and such? (Obviously she was ignorant)

- And what business has SBS in deploying such a bus on this route when it could be used for a real WAB route?

- Above all, where is the flexibility and compassion, or are we just following law?

Kuali Baba SG

1. The wheelchair logo was not supposed to be on the windscreen of that bus because Service 54 is not cleared to carry passengers-in-wheelchair.

What does it take to make the route a WAB service? And I saw the sign in his hand. He took it out of his console, showed it, and kept it back. I thought he had removed it.

TIB1224Y SG

I have seen bus captains of non-WAB services take on wheelchair persons. Personally I feel glad that these bus captains offer the extra mile in transporting the passenger.

I am quite sure that this is a grey area in Singapore. WAB service or not, always argued here, but I am sure to note this point that there is no point in denoting a service WAB or not. Thinking of it, its quite waste of time. But company have regulations, country has its laws. I don't want to go against those.

Once, upon witnessing a SMRT bus captain having problem deploying the ramp, I offered my, perhaps extra and unnecessary help, depending on viewpoint, to open the ramp for him and for a similar passenger, a woman and her son who is in a wheelchair, to board the bus. He got the hang of deploying the ramp, which he previously thought was automatic, and the lady and son got on the way to their destination.

Oceane SG

You guys can show compassion to the person in wheelchair, but I think why not you be a driver yourself to find out how stressful it is?

Firstly, you have to try to explain ever so fruitlessly to the passengers who might not even listen that you cannot accept a passenger in wheelchair.

Then if you allow the passenger on board, you are 1) infringing the laws set by the company; 2) delaying you own schedule and increasing the run time for the remaining passengers on board.

So you can emphatise with the passenger in wheelchair for all I care - I'm not condoning them much, except maybe for the fact that they didn't do their homework before hand. If they had done so, they would have known that Svc 54 isn't certified WAB.

For goodness sake, why is there a website http://www.sbstransit.com.sg?

^tamago^ SG

Yes. The certification requirement for WAB is important. A WAB service has a minimum 50% fleet of WAB buses, and scheduled WAB headway of 30 mins during peak and 60 mins during off-peak.

Imagine any PIW expects to take any bus service which he has knowledge that it has a few WAB buses running, and unfortunately none came for an hour or longer, then he/she writes in to complain. Who's fault will it be?

The driver also needs to be trained in WAB. If an incident involving a PIW occured on a bus on a non-WAB service and it's due to negligence on the part of the driver as he have not been trained to handle that incident, it will once again be the fault of the bus company. Safety is an utmost concern for any PTO in Singapore, and they will rather be safe than sorry.

SMRT may have a different protocol of handling PIW's, but I'm waiting for a PIW to "spoil market" by writing in to complain that a bus with WAB buses running made him/her wait for an hour, then probably they will tighten their regulations too.

Oceane SG

Yup, that leaves more questions than answers:

- Please explain to laymen what WAB stands for and means - and how do you get drivers to explain it to the ignorant.

- Where do people go to find out (other than in cyberspace) which services are WAB, and if there are pamphlets at hospitals and such? (Obviously she was ignorant)

- And what business has SBS in deploying such a bus on this route when it could be used for a real WAB route?

- Above all, where is the flexibility and compassion, or are we just following law?

WAB - Wheelchair Accessible Bus. Drivers can try to explain but if they don't listen there's not much the driver can do.

Other than cyberspace? A simple phone call will do. By right the woman should have had her own database of which services are WAB and which not.

If it can ONLY be used on WAB routes, then what is the exact rationale for buying them in the first place? It takes time to modify certain bus stops and certify a service WAB. I'm sorry but you just got to wait.

You can draw your own line between flexibility and compassion, at the end of the day it's YOUR job that matters. If you would like to be reprimanded by the management because of your compassion, then by all means go ahead.

^tamago^ SG

What does it take to make the route a WAB service? And I saw the sign in his hand. He took it out of his console, showed it, and kept it back.

That means he never displayed the logo on the windscreen at all? Then I hope this indemnifies him. He should never have to go through the trouble of being inquired.

A WAB service has a minimum 50% fleet of WAB buses, and scheduled WAB headway of 30 mins during peak and 60 mins during off-peak on all days (yes, even Sunday has its own peak hours).

sgbuses SG

In Singapore, public transport operators are NOT obliged to provide for disabled passengers (or better known as PIW). Whatever they provide now, it is considered a bonus.

In Australia and the UK, provision of such service is considered the LAW (Disability Discrimination Act 1992/1995).

That is why some say, Singapore still has a long way to go in terms of a gracious society.

Oceane SG

Please read the actual story before blasting your own comments. The driver did not even paste the WAB decal on the front windscreen (refer a few posts below and infer it for yourself).

So whatever you said has been deemed useless. Next please.

Oceane SG

I just want to make my stand clear that I do not discriminate the disabled.

Even if Australia has their own laws, this is Singapore, so the policy is different.

And next, it's very clear that the woman and her disabled son did not do their homework. Had they done so they would have KNOWN that Svc 54 isn't WAB.

For goodness sake the driver did not even display the damn WAB decal. So he has the right to reject disabled personnel.

If you think you can be so professional and tell what the driver to do, then go sign up to be an OCC personnel with SBST. If not just follow what rules there are.

If you want to show compassion, then go sign up to be a volunteer worker. SBST is not a place for you to show compassion, I'm sorry if I'm getting crude. Like I said it's your job that matters.

SBS997A SG

Huh good topic xD

SBS Driver don take because SBS say so, as drive also worker for money ma so cannot say if call OCC all most useless why also working ma so what to do call the boss then can see he say can or not la. If i was a BC i don care the most is i kenna by SBS Transit only la. From my point of view to this is what are the bus design for for WAB? then why are the bus not to take wheelschair????

^tamago^ SG

Well, the bus is simply WAB-ready. Down the years, more and more services will eventually be certified WAB, and these buses will get the chance to serve PIW’s.