Wheelchairs vs buggies: Disabled man wins Supreme Court case

A disabled man has won a Supreme Court case after a woman refused to move her buggy to make room for his wheelchair on a bus in 2012.

It means bus drivers may have to do more to accommodate wheelchair users, says the BBC.

Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger said that if non-wheelchair users unreasonably refused a request to vacate the space, bus drivers should consider further action to pressure them into moving, depending on the circumstances.

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He added: "Where the driver concludes that the non-wheelchair user's refusal is unreasonable, it seems to me that it would be unjustifiable for a bus-operating company to have a policy which does not require some further step of the bus driver in any circumstances."

The BBC says the judgment falls short of making it a legal requirement for companies to compel passengers to make way for wheelchair users. In his ruling, Neuberger said he was "unenthusiastic" about signs on buses being altered to say a policy of everyone moving out of the way for wheelchair users "would be enforced".

Doug Paulley, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, who brought the case, told ITV he was "absolutely delighted" and that the judgment marked "a significant cultural change".

The Equality and Human Rights Commission, which has supported Paulley in court, described the Supreme Court ruling as "a victory for disabled people's rights" and "a hugely important decision".

But Paulley's solicitor, Chris Fry, said the ruling had fallen short.

He said: "The judgment should have gone further. There's no right as things currently stand to force someone off a bus. So it goes as far as that, but not that far yet."

How did the case begin?

Paulley took action against FirstGroup transport company after he was unable to board a bus from Wetherby to Leeds in February 2012, when a woman with a pushchair refused to move out of the designated area despite being asked by the driver.

A judge at Leeds County Court ruled the company's policy of "requesting but not requiring" people to move was in breach of the Equality Act 2010 and Paulley was initially awarded £5,500 in compensation.

However, the Court of Appeal overruled the decision in December 2014, saying transport companies were not required to force one commuter to make way for another. The case then went to the Supreme Court.

What was the argument?

The case regarded not whether the driver acted accordingly, but whether FirstGroup's policy was discriminatory against disabled people and wheelchair users, in particular. If a person requires a wheelchair for mobility and cannot gain access to the designated space, they cannot board the bus.