Wheelchair user slams bus mums

A DUNDEE wheelchair user has slammed two mums on a bus after claiming they prevented him from boarding a local service.

George Craig, 74, from Mid Craigie, said he attempted to board the number 17 service on Pitkerro Road with his son George junior and daughter Maggie before he was allegedly denied access.

The former jute mill worker says two females with buggies refused to move out of the wheelchair section of the bus — despite claiming the driver requested them to do so.

George has limited mobility and has been using a wheelchair since 2013 after having a section of his left leg below the knee removed.

The pensioner said there was a “lack of respect” shown by the two female passengers.

He added: “I was disappointed that the girls never moved. I was going to visit my wife in Ninewells and have used the service regularly.

“There was a green sticker which clearly states users should give up the seat to allow wheelchair users access.”

George’s son, 37, a carer for his dad, said the bus driver made an attempt to move the two females on and added: “We’re certainly not blaming the driver.

“He did try to move the two women with buggies on to other seating to allow my dad access, but they weren’t prepared to move, or at least fold the prams up.

“The incident only went on for a couple of minutes, but there was no way we could board with the size of these buggies.

“We then had to wait on the number 15 service, which took us into town to board the number 22 to get up to Ninewells.”

George said he has no issue with people accessing the bus with buggies but added there needs to be more done to prevent a repeat of the incident.

He added: “I realise some of the big Tansad prams can’t be moved but some of these smaller ones could be folded up if needed to allow the courtesy of giving wheelchairs users access.

“At the end of the day, these seats should be priority for wheelchair users.”

A spokeswoman for Xplore Dundee said: “We’re sorry Mr Craig experienced this situation with one of our buses.

“Our driver followed procedure in asking the buggy owners to move away from the wheelchair space.

“However, bus operators do not have the legal authority to compel passengers to move if they refuse to do so and we rely on the goodwill of our customers in this respect.

“We want to make sure everyone is welcome on board our vehicles, regardless of age or ability, and we will be looking into this incident to see if there’s more we can do for those with mobility issues who may have difficulty boarding crowded services.”

Ourvoice PAGE 16

George at the bus stop on Pitkerro Road.