VIRUS RULES TAKE A BACK SEAT
Bus ignores distancing
This was the incredible scene aboard a crammed commuter bus – pictured at TWICE Covid capacity.
Passengers were packed on to the No. 3 service as it travelled through Ayr town centre.
Stunned passenger Steffanie Gunn snapped a pic of punters – including schoolkids – standing inside the bus and said: “The driver kept letting people on. It was a joke.”
Operator Stagecoach said: “The regulations are that schoolchildren do not count towards overall capacity on buses.”
This was the incredible scene aboard a packed commuter bus – pictured at TWICE Covid capacity.
Passengers were packed on to the No. 3 service as it travelled through Ayr town centre.
Stunned Steffanie Gunn, who boarded the bus outside the town’s Morrisons supermarket, couldn’t believe her eyes as the driver continued to let more and more folk on board.
Due to current restrictions the bus is only supposed to hold 17.
But Stephanie’s picture — which even shows some punters standing — says that limit was thrown out the window.
Steffanie, of Prestwick, told the Post: “The bus was busy when I got on, it was full of schoolchildren. There was already about 27 plus on the bus before it got to Morrisons — but the driver kept letting people on . It was a joke .
“He should have had ‘ bus full’ on the sign.
“And I sent a complaint to Stagecoach and got no response. It’s shocking.”
Steffanie got on the bus at the supermarket at 3.11pm.
Stagecoach say the regulations are that “schoolchildren don’t count towards the overall capacity on buses.”
But Steffanie’s experience comes at a time when many fear coronavirus is sweeping through our schools.
Last week Queen Margaret Academy, on the number 3 route, became the seventh South Ayrshire school to confirm an outbreak of the killer bug since children returned from the October holidays.
Prestwick, Ayr, Kyle and Belmont Acadamies as well as Holmston and Coylton Primaries have also recently confirmed Covid cases.
Now Steffanie is calling for a separate bus for schoolchildren, to ensure crowded busses are avoided in the future.
She said: “They know the school is coming out at that time, so why don’t they put on another bus for the workers?
“On Tuesday I missed another three buses because they were full of schoolchildren trying to get home.
“That was a half hour wait, then I had to walk home. They need to think more about the workers.”
In September we told of similar issues on the same No. 3 service when accounts assistant David Bell labelled the situation a “major health and safety issue”.
David was appalled at the lack of social distancing measures and insisted the firm was putting the safety of passengers at risk.
A spokesperson for Stagecoach West Scotland said: “The regulations are that schoolchildren do not count towards the overall capacity on buses.
“Ideally, they should sit in a dedicated zone, or ‘ bubble’, but this isn’t always possible when a bus arrives with passengers already dispersed within it.
“We monitor passenger numbers and, where possible, we will duplicate services or use bigger buses but this is dependent on other buses being available.
“Our best advice for all customers not travelling for essential trips such as school, work or medical appointments is to avoid peak travel times wherever possible – this is particularly the case at leaving time for schools.”
They know the school is coming out at that time so why don’t they put on another bus?