Disabled woman in bus trip ‘hell’
A DISABLED woman was left shocked when she was told to get out of her wheelchair to get on a bus.
Jackie Clarke, who has osteoporosis and arthritis, described a trip to Wakefield as “the journey from hell”.
The 52-year-old was travelling from her home in Goole to surprise her husband at work for his birthday.
But she said she was left feeling “disgusted and humiliated” when her son had to carry her onto the Arriva bus.
Mrs Clarke said: “The driver looked at my chair and said ‘you can’t get on here with that’.
“But there was a space for wheelchairs with a sign, and he let a lady with a pushchair in there after already refusing me – I was disgusted and humiliated. I felt discriminated against because I am disabled.”
Last month the Express also reported the story of a Kirkthorpe mum who was refused entry on to an Arriva bus with her disabled son.
Nigel Featham, managing director for Arriva Yorkshire, apologised to Mrs Clarke and said the bus she had used was not suitable for wheelchairs.
He said: “This year alone we are spending £12m on new buses and are well on the way to having a completely wheelchair accessible fleet.”
Mrs Clarke also had to wait 25 minutes on platform two at Westgate railway station to cross the track, as there is no footbridge with disabled access.
A spokesman for East Coast Trains said the planned £6.6m redevelopment on the station will include a new footbridge with disabled access.
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Weather for Wakefield
Friday 25 May 2012
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Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
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ManicManiac
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:30 PMHow many times does this need to happen before someone sees sense and strips Arriva of their public transport licence within the Wakefield area? If the bus had a sign and a space for wheelchair users as described, how can Mr. Featham say that the bus isn't equipped for wheelchairs?
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