Bipolar man blasts bus pass system
Sufferer paid when journeys should have been free
A Perth man who spent four years paying for bus travel when his psychiatric condition meant it should have been free, is angry that entitlement information has not been properly disseminated.
Crawford Buchan (48) found out by chance that his bipolar mental health diagnosis meant that he was entitled to free bus travel.
He approached Stagecoach in an effort to recover four years of bus fares he had paid out to get to and from work in Perth, amounting to around £2200.
But the bus company dismissed his claim and told him to get in touch with Perth and Kinross Council.
Crawford, who has written a book on living with mental health problems, explained: “I had been travelling into my previous employer for four years.
“Then recently I changed jobs and upped my hours.
“Unfortunately the extra hours messed up my sleep pattern.
“The sleep disruption led to me having an episode and I checked myself into Murray Royal’s adult psychiatric ward to recover. “I was there for 11 days. “While I was on the ward, another patient mentioned that I should be getting free bus travel because I am bipolar.
“I was shocked. This had never been pointed out to me before, certainly not in any official communication.”
When asked about how Mr Buchan had remained unaware of the considerable savings he was due, a spokesperson from Perth and Kinross Council said: “This is a nationally run scheme overseen and funded by Transport Scotland. The criteria for qualification criteria is set at a national level.
“The council is responsible for administering the scheme at a local level and will process any application received against the nationally set criteria.”
Crawford has now applied for a bus pass, but this will take several weeks to be issued.
He warned that as things stood, it was almost impossible for others like him to be aware of the potential savings they were due.
He added: “I realise I stand little chance of seeing my money refunded, but I worry that many people could be paying to ride the bus when they don’t have to.
“If this person in Murray Royal had not shared the information, I would still be forking out when I shouldn’t have had to.
“I’ve known about my condition for 20 years.
“Long ago, I suggested that when you are given a psychiatric diagnosis you should be presented with clear information – an A-Z of entitlements leaflet, explaining what mental health issues mean in terms of daily life and finances.
“But I suspect that because this idea came from a patient, not medical staff, it was not taken further.”
A Stagecoach spokesperson said: “This is a matter for the local authority to comment on rather than an individual operator.
“It seems to relate to the wider concessionary pass scheme which covers all operators rather than being specific to Stagecoach.”
Crawford Buchan only found out he was eligible for the bus pass by chance