JustBeingCP

I was left at a bus stop by a driver yesterday morning (Wednesday 22nd of February, 2023).

I was planning to get a 1040 service from my local bus stop into Hereford city centre.

I had my bus pass ready and had signalled for the bus to pull over and pick me up.

The bus driver just gestured at me as the bus got close to the bus and then carried on driving down the road.

This meant that I was forced to wheel into Hereford city centre in my wheelchair after being left stranded at the stop.

I’m not sure if the wheelchair space was occupied on the particular bus or if it was just taken up by pushchairs or passengers standing in it.

I raised this issue with the minister for local transport at the DFT (Department for Transport) last year and was told that bus drivers have to do everything they can to ensure that our community has access to there bus service.

I feel incredibly let down by the bus driver and operator in question because I feel this should not be happening in 2023.

It has also left me wondering why the disabled community is continually failed by public transport companies across the nation.

I am as of today (Thursday the 23rd of February, 2023) calling of transport operators to do more when it comes to supporting the disabled community to use public transport.

I have been left not wanting to use my local bus services as a result of this incident, which I see as a real shame.

It has even left me considering weather or not to renew my bus pass when it expires in August 2026.

Public transport is a lifeline for the disabled community across the nation but it is becoming increasingly difficult to access because of incidents like this.

I hate writing blogs of this nature but feel it is important to highlight issues like this as and when occur.

I’m not sure how long it will take me to get over this and I will be raising it with the minister for local transport when I meet with him on the 7th of March in london.

I will again urge him to take steps to stop this from happening on a regular basis to the disabled community.

I know that this is another very short blog but I needed to share my experience of this so that the general public are aware that it happens within our society.

I also recognise that I have released a couple of blogs in quick succession but this is necessary when trying to raise awareness of an important issue.

I would like to end in my normal way by taking the opportunity to thank both my readers and followers for the taking the time out of your busy schedules to read my latest blog.

Cam