Islander Amy Williams has been praised online for highlighting the issue on behalf of pregnant women in Jersey but the matter has still stirred up debate as to who has the right to take a seat on a busy bus.
Of those who contributed to the debate on the Jersey Evening Post’s Facebook page, some said that while they agreed that pregnant women should be given priority seats over able-bodied people, they disagreed that the onus lay with the passenger to offer a seat, adding that the pregnant woman should ask for the seat, instead of waiting to be offered one.
Others felt the behaviour was a societal issue, adding it came down to a lack of basic manners. Many blamed people’s upbringing as well as their obsession with their smartphone, which can ‘have an effect on how aware people are of their surroundings’.
Islanders also criticised the reaction given by LibertyBus to Ms Williams after she suggested that they put up signs which included images of pregnant women as well as the elderly. The bus operator said that they had ‘no plans’ to update the signage on their buses because it would incur an added cost and the existing signs on-board complied with current
legislation.
Some even suggested that the transport company should replace the ‘driver of the month posters’ on all of their buses with posters that include pregnant women as candidates for priority seating. Those opposing Ms Williams’ point centred their arguments on the fact that pregnancy was ‘not a disability’.
