ICYMI: Bus firm takes views on board at meeting in Inverness
THE Highland head of under-fire bus firm Stagecoach admitted the company “has not got it right” as passengers lined up to criticise its service at a public meeting in Inverness.
Managing director of Stagecoach North, David Liston, made the admission as two carers spoke about how they fear for their clients’ lives due to the “absolutely shocking” service.
The meeting to bring Stagecoach face-to-face with disgruntled customers was organised by Inverness MP Drew Hendry following a wave of complaints and in a bid to pave the way towards solutions.
Around 60 people attended the event at the Spectrum Centre where feedback included complaints about buses running either very late or not at all and many routes not being serviced.
People also spoke about how they had missed medical appointments due to poor reliability.
Perhaps the most serious allegations related to vulnerable people being put at risk because care staff reliant on buses simply could not get to work on time.
Hilary Prosser, a complex needs housing support manager for Highland Home Carers (HHC), said: “The bus service is absolutely shocking. I have got staff working early shifts and late shifts but the buses are constantly late or not turning up.
“When these buses do not turn up I have got eight vulnerable adults who are being left unsupported, which is high risk to the extreme. These are the most vulnerable adults in this area – all our patients bar one are non-verbal.
“I have a client who needs their medication at 8am and the staff member didn’t get in until 8.20am because of the buses. That potentially could be life-threatening to that service user, someone who is non-verbal.
“Also, buses drive past people – service users and staff, including one service user who is in a wheelchair. The bus drove right past them without explanation.”
Jen Paterson a practice service technician with HHC was there to represent service users who “can’t speak for themselves” and agreed that even when buses do arrive there can be issues.
She said: “Bus drivers can be quite rude.
“If you’ve got a challenging service user on the bus you might take an extra two minutes to find the seat but the bus drivers are so impatient they won’t stop and think ‘I need to wait an extra two minutes’ – it has got to be on the timetable regardless of the passenger, there is no leeway for anything.”
The impact on staff of poor services has been serious, she added, with low-paid carers having to fork out more than an hour’s wages for a taxi just to get to work on time.
Mr Liston pledged to improve matters.
While admitting things would not change overnight, he said: “The feedback I got was really great. People really got to the issues of how we need to improve our service, improve how we run our business and how we communicate.
“You are not asking for miracles, you are asking for a reliable bus service and you are looking for us to do what it says on the tin.
“We want to get this right but you need to allow us a bit more time, so we can take action.”
Mr Hendry said the meeting had been a “fantastic first step”.
Promising to organise another in the near future he said: “I am happy to host as many meetings as required until we host one that nobody turns up to because there are no problems.”
