A Perth councillor claims he was snubbed by Stagecoach chairman Sir Brian Souter in his quest to see a more disabled-friendly vehicle used on the PRI to Ninewells Hospital route.
The bus firm’s managing director for East Scotland Andrew Jarvis has now pledged to view the service with Willie Wilson, who has continued to cross swords with Stagecoach on the issue of disability access.
Mr Wilson believes the X7 bus is unsuitable for the less able bodied.
Speaking of his frustration Mr Wilson said: “I wrote to Brian Souter, chairman of Stagecoach, who didn’t even bother to reply.
“Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach Group chief executive, did acknowledge the letter so I wrote back to him inviting him to join me for a journey on the X7 so he could find out what it is really like as a passenger. I have offered several dates in the past few weeks and, again, this has received a nil response.
“I did at least, however, have a response from Robert Montgomery, managing director of Stagecoach UK Bus, who is based in Rugby. All that he really said in his email was that ‘we should be lucky to have such a wonderful bus service and that if you appreciate the comfort of a coach, travel on the X7, but if you prefer the accessibility of a low-floored bus, try the 16A.’
“That is just sheer discrimination against people who are elderly, infirm and have visual impairment.”
Mr Wilson said he has witnessed people struggling to get off the bus.
“One or two of the more elderly passengers found it extremely difficult to exit the bus and one lady almost fell into the roadway as a result,” he said.
“Stagecoach originally said that they would look at the matter in two years’ time after the introduction of the X7 coaches to see if they could slot in replacement vehicles that would be more suitable.
“What they seem to forget is this service started off as an inter-hospital service, particularly to allow vulnerable people to travel easily and in comfort between the two hospitals.”
Mr Jarvis said: “I am more than happy to meet again with Councillor Wilson and travel alongside him on board one of our X7 coaches,” he said. “We currently do not have any plans to revise the coaches used on this route as the increased capacity over the previous vehicles is clearly required to meet customer demand.
“All our vehicles meet the legal requirements for accessibility and the wheelchair space on the X7 vehicles is accessed via a ramp the driver needs to deploy, as on other low floor vehicles. Should any passengers be concerned over accessing the coach, service 16A serves as an alternative between Dundee, Ninewells Hospital and Perth, which operates every hour using conventional low floor buses and runs regularly all week.”