FOI request detail

Prosecution of bus drivers who break the law requiring they employ a ramp

Request ID: FOI-2513-1617
Date published: 13 April 2017

You asked
S24(2) of the Public Passengers Vehicle Act 1981 makes failure to comply with the Conduct Regulations a criminal offence "liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale" (£500) "and, in the case of an offence by a person acting as driver of a public service vehicle, the court by which he is convicted may, if it thinks fit, cause particulars of the conviction to be endorsed upon the counterpart of the licence granted to that person under Part III of the Road Traffic Act 1988 or, as the case may be, the counterpart (if any) of his Community licence". The Conduct Regulations refer to, amongst others, The Public Service Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. These include the following requirements: "Where a wheelchair user wishes to board or to alight from a Schedule 1 vehicle, a driver and a conductor shall first safely deploy (subject to regulation 15(1) (duties requiring the proper functioning of equipment)) any boarding lift, boarding ramp or portable ramp in its correct operating position. "Where a wheelchair user wishes to board or to alight from a Schedule 1 vehicle and requests assistance to do so, a driver and a conductor shall provide assistance to him." It is therefore a criminal offence for a bus driver to fail to operate a ramp when a wheelchair user indicates he or she wishes to get off the bus. Buses with wheelchair spaces have special buttons that indicate that a wheelchair user requires the ramp to be fitted. These make an unignorable siren noise and light a special light on the driver's dashboard. This is a clear indication that "a wheelchair user wishes to board or to alight from a Schedule 1 vehicle" and so any driver failing to deploy the ramp is committing a crime punishable by a £500 fine and an endorsement on their license. Yet such crimes are frequent. I am aware that one London resident wheelchair user alone has recently had this happen to him on over 70 separate occasions; many of which he has supplied video evidence for - e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU9I8mJBn5g . An occasional slip by a driver may be understandable (though I think that's debateable given the siren noise and the light!) but the frequency of this occurence makes it clear that this is a systematic failing. I want to know please: 1) How many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to operate the ramp in such situations in the past year? 2) How many complaints have you had about drivers' failure to comply with their criminal duty to operate the ramp in the past year? 3) How do you ensure that drivers' crimes in this specific are punished according to the law? 4) How many times do you give warnings to a driver before prosecuting them? 5) What impact does such prosecution have on a driver's career? 6) Please supply your procedure for identifying, reporting and prosecuting drivers that have committed this crime. S11 of the same Conduct Regulations places the following criminal obligation on drivers. "(2) If there is an unoccupied wheelchair space on the vehicle, a driver and a conductor shall allow a wheelchair user to board if— "(a) the wheelchair is of a type or size that can be correctly and safely located in that wheelchair space, and "(b) in so doing, neither the maximum seating nor standing capacity of the vehicle would be exceeded. "(3) For the purpose of paragraph (2), a wheelchair space is occupied if— "(a) there is a wheelchair user in that space; or "(b) passengers or their effects are in that space and they or their effects cannot readily and reasonably vacate it by moving to another part of the vehicle." I am aware of multiple occasions in which bus drivers have failed to comply with their criminal law duty to allow wheelchair users to board the bus, sometimes even failing to stop at the bus stop, when the wheelchair space is unoccupied or where the wheelchair space is occupied but the passengers and their effects could potentially readily and reasonably vacate it by moving to another part of the vehicle. This is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of £500 and an endorsement on the driver's license. Please provide the following information in relation to this crime. 7) In the last year, how many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to allow a wheelchair user to board even though the wheelchair space is physically empty? 8) In the last year, how many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to allow a wheelchair user to board even though passengers and/or their effects in the wheelchair space could readily and easily move to another part of the bus? 9) In the last year, how many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to allow a wheelchair user to board, without the driver investigating to determine whether passengers or their effects occupying the wheelchair space could reasily and easily vacate it by moving to another part of the vehicle? 10) How do you ensure that drivers' crimes in this area are punished according to the law? 11) How many times do you give warnings to a driver before prosecuting them? 12) What impact does such prosecution have on a driver's career? 13) Please supply your procedure for identifying, reporting and prosecuting drivers that have committed this crime. As a comparator, please tell me: 14) How many London bus drivers have been prosecuted for other criminal offences committed whilst driving, for e.g. speeding, jumping the lights, stopping in boxed junctions and similar, in the past year? 15) What is the impact on drivers of such prosecutions?

We answered

TfL Ref: FOI-2513-1617

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 14 March 2017 asking for information about bus driver prosecutions.

 

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked:

 

1)    How many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to operate the ramp in such situations in the past year?

We do not hold this information. TfL do not employ bus drivers and are not responsible for such prosecutions. You may wish to direct this question to the Metropolitan Police and/or the respective bus operators who may be able to provide you with this information.

 

2)    How many complaints have you had about drivers' failure to comply with their criminal duty to operate the ramp in the past year?

There is no 'Reason Code' specifically for 'failure to operate ramp', however between 15 March 2016 and 14 March 2017 we have received a total of 294 complaints listed under the ‘Reason Code’ of either “Driver refusal to admit wheelchair” or “Driver – Not asking to clear Wheelchair Bay”.  These complaints would have been referred to the bus operator(s) concerned and followed up in line with their respective policies and procedures. A driver failing to comply with the professional standards expected would face a disciplinary hearing and, depending on the gravity of this issue, might receive anything from a warning to dismissal. If a criminal act had taken place, this would be a matter for the police to investigate and hand over to the Crown Prosecution Service. We have reviewed and updated our driver guidance and training to reinforce good practice in this area. It would always be the case that if a wheelchair user wanted to board a bus that wasn’t already full of passengers, we would expect the driver to stop and deploy the ramp. As TfL does not directly employ bus drivers, we are not in a position to issue warnings or sanctions as these responsibilities rest with the bus operators.

 

3)    How do you ensure that drivers' crimes in this specific [area] are punished according to the law?

Please see our answer to Q1.

 

4)    How many times do you give warnings to a driver before prosecuting them?

5)    What impact does such prosecution have on a driver's career?

Please see our answer to Q1.

 

6)    Please supply your procedure for identifying, reporting and prosecuting drivers that have committed this crime.

We would ensure any complaint about a driver not operating his/her ramp was followed up by the operator to understand the full circumstances and take disciplinary action as required. However we do not hold a procedure document in relation to ‘identifying, reporting and prosecuting drivers’ over this issue.

 

7)    In the last year, how many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to allow a wheelchair user to board even though the wheelchair space is physically empty?

8)    In the last year, how many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to allow a wheelchair user to board even though passengers and/or their effects in the wheelchair space could readily and easily move to another part of the bus?

9)    In the last year, how many drivers in TFL's area have been prosecuted for failing to allow a wheelchair user to board, without the driver investigating to determine whether passengers or their effects occupying the wheelchair space could readily and easily vacate it by moving to another part of the vehicle?

10) How do you ensure that drivers' crimes in this area are punished according to the law?

11) How many times do you give warnings to a driver before prosecuting them?

12) What impact does such prosecution have on a driver's career?

Please see our answer to Q1.

 

13) Please supply your procedure for identifying, reporting and prosecuting drivers that have committed this crime.

Please see our answer to Q6.

 

14) How many London bus drivers have been prosecuted for other criminal offences committed whilst driving, for e.g. speeding, jumping the lights, stopping in boxed junctions and similar, in the past year?

15) What is the impact on drivers of such prosecutions?

Please see our answer to Q1. However, In terms of offences such as speeding and not complying with the highway code, bus drivers are treated in the same way as any other motorists on the public highway.

 

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Lee Hill

Senior FOI Case Officer

 

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

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