Disabled woman slams bus driver who refused to let her onboard
A disabled woman has taken aim at a bus driver who refused to let her onboard a busy bus.
The 23-year-old, who relies on a mobility scooter, sparked an online debate after recalling how a driver wouldn't let her on the Melbourne bus, as the vehicle was filled to capacity.
“I’m so sorry,” the driver told Anastasiia Berezikova as she tried to board the bus.
“I can’t take you on at this stage. The next one shouldn’t be too long. The bus is full, I am only allowed to take 75 passengers. So I can’t kick them off and let you on, it would be unfair.”
While filming the interaction, the woman asked the bus driver if he “understands there are priority seats” available for disabled people on public buses.
“I understand, but there are other people who got on the bus before you, and I can’t kick them out,” he replied.
Ms Berezikova claimed “able-bodied people” had been prioritised in this instance, as she addressed those on the bus and asked, “So none of the able-bodied people want to help a disabled person?”
Posting the interaction to TikTok, Ms Berezikova was met with mixed responses from viewers, as some people sided with her, while others sided with the bus driver.
“You’re prioritised a seat/space on the bus if there is a space on the bus, they can’t just kick someone off that’s on before you,” one user wrote.
“On the bus you get priority seating, yes. But you don’t get priority to ride - if it’s full it’s full they can’t just kick people off,” a second commenter wrote.
“I’m a wheelchair user also. In this situation he did nothing wrong. You’re assuming people are discriminating you when they’re not,” a third wrote.
Others were adamant the people on the bus were in the wrong by not offering her a seat.
“Bloody hell how rude & inconsiderate are people nowadays they only think about themselves. They should’ve moved & stood up from the priority seat,” one wrote.
In follow-up videos posted to TikTok, Ms Berezikova claimed that other travellers had boarded the bus at her stop after pushing in front of her, and that she had pleaded with them to make space for her.
She also chose to reveal her medical history, which included being in a 12-day coma in July 2021 due to cardiac arrests caused by Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) and subsequent motor skills, co-ordination, and speech issues.
“I get it, it doesn’t matter to you that (myself) or others have special needs. What matters to you is that you get from point A to point B on time. I dont mind waiting for a second bus. Okay third. But fourth? Fifth?!” she wrote in the follow-up post.
“And still face discrimination on the bus. If you think its okay to leave disabled people stranded that is NOT COOL ... I deserve to get on a bus like anyone else and infrastructure and society must allow that.”
Image credits: TikTok / Getty Images