An incident involving a disabled woman refused use of wheelchair space by mums with buggies has led to widespread debate after video footage of the confrontation was posted online.
Maria Whitefield, aged 38, attempted to board the 432 Arriva bus on her way to a hospital appointment, but found the priority wheelchair area already taken up by two buggies. The driver had lowered the ramp and Maria began moving onto it, but the space remained blocked. She filmed the twenty minute standoff, during which she can be heard telling the parents that “wheelchairs are a priority”.
One mother responded “he’s a priority too” and refused to fold her buggy.
Maria is also heard saying “these people are being selfish and will not fold up their buggies”, while other passengers admitted she had priority but still encouraged her to get off the bus so it could continue its route. According to the TfL website, “by law, wheelchair users have priority over the space as it is the only place they can travel safely”.
TfL later apologised to Maria and confirmed that wheelchair users have priority access.
The disabled woman refused use of wheelchair space by mums with buggies was trying to reach a hospital appointment at the time. She said: “I was on my way to the hospital, I wanted to board the bus and the driver had put the ramp out. In London we only have one space. It was made law by the Supreme High Court that wheelchairs have priority.” She added that she looked down at the space and told the parents, “look on the floor, there’s a sign that says it’s a wheelchair priority area”.
Maria said she felt abandoned as no one stepped in to help: “No one was speaking up for me or helping me. We weren’t going anywhere for about 20 minutes.” After eventually giving up, she waited almost twenty minutes for the next service, missed her appointment and had to schedule another one months later. She described feeling frustrated that neither the passengers nor the driver enforced the rules. “The driver is meant to enforce that law. They have an announcement they can make on the bus to say the wheelchair area is required and can the passengers please make space,” she said. “The driver didn’t want to do anything, in the end I just had to give in.”
The disabled woman refused use of wheelchair space by mums with buggies said the situation left her angry. “People were saying ‘you have priority but people have places to go’, but I also have places to go.” Maria added that this sort of experience happens frequently and that people “need to take a step in my shoes”.
She filed complaints with both TfL and Arriva. “I complained and they said they are going to look into it but I never heard back.” Hoping to raise awareness, Maria shared the video on TikTok, where it has now received more than two million views. Commenters were split, though many noted the sign that says “buggy users please make space for wheelchair users”, while others questioned why the driver failed to intervene.
The disabled woman refused use of wheelchair space by mums with buggies said she hopes the video will encourage better training for drivers and more public understanding of accessibility rules.
