A disabled woman was left in tears after she was told by an Aberdeen bus driver “there is no room for you.”
Chelle Topham and friend Tracey Buchan – who both require walking aids – say they have been treated like second-class citizens when it comes to the transport system in Aberdeen.
Miss Topham says she was “made to look like an idiot” by a First bus driver who turned her away due to the disabled spot being occupied by buggies and strollers.
First Bus have confirmed that while they rely on the “good citizenship” of others to move out of disabled spaces, they say “there is nothing the driver can do to force them.”
40-year-old Miss Topham says she has relied on both the use a wheelchair and rollator since suffering a heart attack in January 2019.
However, she is now “too scared” to use bus routes in the city.
She said: “When I first got put in a wheelchair after the heart attack, we went out and there was a buggy on the bus and I got told ‘there is no room for you’.
“I couldn’t get into the disabled space and I was the one who had to get off the bus – even though it says on the windows to give up the space for a wheelchair or disabled person that needs it.”
Miss Topham says the same thing happened more recently when trying board a number two bus on King Street on July 22.
“I put a complaint in and I got a phone call a couple of days ago from First Bus and they said that drivers are only allowed to ask people to fold the buggy once and if they refuse then the disabled person has to get off the bus if there is no room,” she said.
“To me, that’s them saying ‘well basically you’re disabled so it doesn’t matter, you aren’t worth anything’.”
Mrs Buchan – who also requires a rollator to navigate the city – claims there are select bus drivers who “do not like people with disabilities”.
‘I have been really stressed about it’
“My issue is that we have the same rights and responsibilities as other people. Some of us are able to work and pay our taxes and we are entitled to the same level of service and it is not happening,” she added.
The pair claim that when they tried to get on a bus together, along with another friend, they were told they would have to each go on separate buses.
They also say this is despite the fact they had offered to fold up their walking aids.
It means the women have given up on using the bus for days out together but still rely on First Bus services to go to church, attend appointments and get their weekly shop.
“We literally only go out if we have to because of the way it makes us feel,” Miss Topham says.
“I’ve actually burst into tears before, I have been really stressed about it.
“I end up having panic attacks and if I get too stressed I end up having seizures.
“I didn’t ask to be disabled, I didn’t ask to have a heart attack and have to use a wheelchair for six months and then a rollator for the rest of my life.
“I was in shielding for the last year-and-a-half so I am only getting out now and this is what I am getting out to.”
Not only do the encounters cause embarrassment for Miss Topham, but she says that being forced off buses often makes her late in getting home to take her medication.
She said: “Being told you can’t get on the bus because there is a buggy, knowing that you need to get home to take your insulin which basically saves your life every time you take it stresses me out.”
It is the second time in recent weeks accessibility issues have been highlighted in the city, after one couple complained they couldn’t navigate the uneven pavements on King Street with their wheelchair.
In response to the ordeal, Aberdeen City Council said that like all local authorities they have a limited budget, but are willing to discuss these issues in more detail and prioritise improvements in line with their budget process.
A First Bus spokesperson said: “We can confirm that in instances where a wheelchair user has a need to make use of the designated space within each bus, our drivers are instructed to request in the strongest terms to anyone else present in the bay to relocate to another part of the bus if there’s room to do so.
‘In the vast majority of cases, our customers do show good citizenship by complying’
“In the vast majority of cases, our customers do show good citizenship by complying with requests of this nature.
“However, if a passenger already present in the wheelchair space refuses to move for a wheelchair user when requested to by the driver, then there is nothing the driver can do to force them.
“Nonetheless, our drivers are instructed in such cases to take action such as not departing from the stop until the situation is resolved.
“It should also be noted that only a passenger in a wheelchair has priority occupancy of the wheelchair bay.”
“We would also expect our drivers to accept a passenger boarding with a walking aid such as a rollator and, if the accessible space isn’t available, folding the aid up and placing it in the luggage bay would also be fine, provided that there is sufficient space available on board.
“Our policy can be found in our Conditions of Travel.”