Stagecoach MCSL - Gillmoss Depot

[MPTE1955]

RE: Stagecoach Merseyside - Gillmoss Depot

(26/10/2012 19:46)Bevan Price Wrote:  I suppose someone may accuse me of being anti-disabled (I' m not), but overcrowding was an almost inevitable consequence of Governments requiring all buses to become low floor. Before DDA, we had (for example) Leyland National & Bristol RE single deckers with up to 53 seats. These have been replaced by more complex, more expensive buses, rarely having more than about 45 seats, and often only around 35 to 40 seats. In my opinion, it would have been cheaper to provide free, on-demand transport for every wheelchair user than to insist that every bus became low floor. But no, the vast majority of the travelling have to suffer just so that wheelchairs can access any bus, even though only a tiny proportion of bus journeys ever carry a wheelchair user.

Fair point about the buses now having less seats due to the wheelchair space but to be fair it gives people in wheelchairs more freedom to get out rather than calling dial-a-ride and having to hope that something was available. The leyland nationals had 49 seats and 24 standing and coped with a big load. Not sure its really fair to blame over-crowding solely on the wheelchair issue though.