Girl who used an old £1 coin kicked off bus
A GIRL of 11 said yesterday that she was not allowed to board a bus to school when she tried to pay her fare with an old £1 – six days before the coin ceases to be legal tender.
Armani Taasse had been given £1.50 by her mother to catch her usual number 16 bus at 8am on Monday.
But the youngster, from Bucknall, Staffordshire, said she was left standing by the side of the road after the driver refused to let her travel on the bus.
Armani said: ‘I told him that I had the old £1 coin and he said, “I’m sorry but we can’t take it” and that I couldn’t go on the journey. He drove off with me at the bus stop.’
She was left ‘upset and ‘embarrassed’, but managed to arrive on time at Moorside High School in nearby Werrington after ringing her gran to get a lift.
Armani’s mother Janice, 52, a care worker, who was at work at the time, said: ‘My vulnerable daughter was left at the bottom of the road on her own. The bus driver should have taken her regardless.’
The round £1 coin will no longer be legal tender from Monday.
A spokesman for D&G Bus, which operates the service, said: ‘We are aware of an issue with one of our drivers on Monday morning. This was caused by a misunderstanding of information which we provided regarding the old £1 coin.’