Ron’s bus rage

TAKING away my independence . . . Ron with his wife Concepta

A WHEELCHAIR-BOUND Army veteran claims his limited independence is being taken away by uncaring bus drivers.

Great-grandad Ron Webster (73), who has heart problems, epilepsy and has suffered several strokes, has been humiliated several times by First bus drivers.

When he tried to board a bus in Hollins Road with his son last week, the driver told him there was no room for his wheelchair as there was a pram already on board. Ron, a former lance corporal who served in Libya, Cyprus and Germany, said the driver’s lack of compassion led to anger among the other passengers.

“The driver said there was no room,” said Ron, a former long-distance lorry driver. “When we looked, it was just a small fold-up pushchair and a woman sitting where the wheelchair goes.

“He should have asked her to move but he didn’t. When the other passengers heard what was going on, they asked her to move but she wouldn’t. People even moved from the front of the bus to the back so I could get on.

“Then passengers sitting upstairs heard what was going on and came down to have a go at the passengers who were asking the woman to move. It was awful. I was just sitting outside on the pavement not knowing what to do and all the time the driver did nothing to intervene.”

Ron and his wife Concepta (73), of Walkers Road, Hollins, said they’re so sick of their experiences on First buses they’ve decided to take action to stop it happening to others.

Ron sya he often meets a bad attitude from First drivers unwilling to activate the ramp or lower the bus to let him on and off in his electric wheelchair.

A few weeks ago he said the driver was so uncooperative, his wheelchair got stuck. People waiting to get on had carry him off.

“I really do feel people in wheelchairs are being discriminated against by these drivers,” he added.

“The majority are great but there are quite a few awkward ones who just don’t want to know — and that’s wrong. It makes me feel very upset and angry.”

Oldham operations manager, Hardik Modha, said: “I’m sorry to hear about this experience from one of our customers. We’ve requested details of the incident so we can investigate further.

“I can assure all our customers that we always investigate such incidents.

“If the wheelchair space is occupied by a non-wheelchair user and the bus isn’t full, we require the driver to ask that it be made free for a wheelchair user. But the driver has no power to compel passengers to move.”