War on the buses: it's mums vs disabled | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

A disabled Rotorua woman is fed up with pushchairs and prams clogging the aisles of buses.

Diana Hodgson, who uses crutches, often struggles to find a seat or move past the prams when she is catching her Mitchell Downs bus.

 She says it is not the bus company, Cityride, at fault but the attitude of young mothers who have little courtesy for people with disabilities.

"The whole thing is slack and casual and needs to be addressed," Ms Hodgson said.

"I can't take my legs off but mothers can take their baby out of their prams - but they don't.

"Councils are crying to not bring their cars into the city but what good are the buses when you can barely get on?

"It's not going to get any easier for anybody if the attitude goes on and if no one says anything about it."

Ms Hodgson is not alone, with another disabled woman, who did not want to be named, experiencing the same difficulties.

"I sometimes use two walking sticks and find it hard to walk past the pushchairs and everything else people leave in the aisle," she said.

"I'm pretty forthright so I do tell people with prams to move out of the way."

The 51-year-old said a change of attitude was needed throughout the whole community.

"I know of a couple of Special Olympics athletes who have had nasty things done to them. One got pushed down the stairs at the library and another had some nasty things painted on his windows," she said.

"I think some education on disability awareness is needed. It's important, putting people in similar situations to those with physical disabilities so they can learn what it's like."

But young mothers say the criticism is unfair.

Mary Courtney, 19, takes the Owhata bus with her two children, aged 1 and 2.

"I collapse my pram because it's less hassle but other mums get on the bus with prams and they don't take up that much room," she said. "We do get up if we see someone with a disability and if there's a seat to move to.

"But there's people out there who just want to annoy you. They tell you to move when there's an empty seat opposite. We just ignore them."

Ahenata Te Kani, 18, said keeping her 9-month-old daughter safe was more of a priority than trying to economise on space.

"I prefer her to be in the pram than on my lap because she's strapped in and it's safer when the vehicle is moving," she said.

"It's also too big to collapse - the pram is always full with her stuff."

She said some disabled people needed to check their attitudes.

"This lady had her crutches in the way and when we asked her to move them she yelled, 'Do you want me to move for your baby?'

"My mum told her she didn't have to be so rude."

 Reesby Buses, which operates Cityride Rotorua, reports an increase in the number of mothers with prams using the service.

"I believe with the economic times it's harder to buy a second car, so a lot of people are using the buses," managing director Dave Reesby said.

"We have had the odd complaint in the past and, in response, we've put up signs saying please vacate the seats for people with prams and disabilities," he said.

"The passenger does need to take responsibility. The drivers can ask people to move but some of them just won't. All I can ask is for people to be more considerate to others." Mr Reesby said the purchase of a new low-floor bus for the Mitchell Downs area might help to relieve the conflict, with more space allocated for wheelchairs and prams.