Glencoe wheelchair user pleads for bus solution
IONA GRANT has spent almost her entire life in a wheelchair after being born with cerebral palsy, but it has not prevented the Glencoe student travelling abroad or halted her skiing or taking the helm of a tall ship racing from Lisbon to Cadiz.
But what the 21-year-old cannot do is be sure of a bus to take her the short distance from her home to college in Fort William and back three days a week.
For 10 years she has repeatedly found herself either missing buses because of malfunctions with the vehicles’ disability access ramps or being stuck for hours on buses for the same reason.
A perfect example was Monday last week, when ramp problems prevented her catching her usual morning bus for college and then the one bringing her home had a ramp malfunction that left her stuck on board for three hours.
That particular night saw Iona’s mum, Johanna, forced to seek help from staff and customers at a nearby hotel who came to the rescue and helped lift Iona and her motorised wheelchair from the vehicle. Even firefighters have been called in the past to help get Iona and her wheelchair lifted off a bus safely.
And this week an angry Iona pulled no punches, saying Stagecoach and Citylink bosses should be ashamed of what she has had to put up with.
She said: ‘It’s been the same sort of problems for the last 10 years. I just want them to get a solution that makes sense. The drivers aren’t able to fix the ramps when things go wrong.
‘Now something happens almost every single day. But the management of the bus companies just don’t seem to really care.
‘If they were ever put in my position, how would they feel?’
Iona’s mum says coach and bus drivers are usually sympathetic and generally try to help, but companies need to have a better policy in place to help her daughter when a problem arises.
Mrs Grant said: ‘I actually don’t know from day-to-day if Iona’s going to get home okay. There needs to be better maintenance of ramps and when these breakdowns happen they need to declare an emergency right away, not wait until Iona’s been stuck for four hours.’
Asked to comment, an apologetic spokesperson for Stagecoach North Scotland said staff received on-going training on the use of the wheelchair ramp and the company is investigating a technical adjustment that could help improve reliability.
‘We have already met with this customer to discuss her concerns and we are happy to meet again,' added the spokesperson.
But Arthur Cowie, chairman of Lochaber Disability Access Panel, says the breakdowns are unacceptable, adding: ‘We have raised this matter continually over the years and it’s equally frustrating for us.
‘This isn’t a new problem and it doesn't just affect Iona, but a great many people across Lochaber with mobility problems.
‘Politicians need to come to the table and sit down and talk with people who actually use these services and look at accessibility across the board.
‘We need politicians to tell civil servants, to tell bus company managers, that maintenance of these ramps needs to be improved.’