Buses 'put schedule before user safety'

BRAD ROBERTS

Last updatedWed Apr 08 19:33:00 UTC 2015

Charlotte Curd

Bell Block bus user Brendan Cresswell, 27, is partially blind and has celebral palsy and has been having trouble with drivers who take off before passengers with disabilities get a chance to sit down.

A Taranaki man with cerebral palsy and partial blindness says he is dismayed at the treatment of disabled people on New Plymouth buses.

Bell Block local Brendan Cresswell, 27, had to grab hold of a pillar to steady himself when the bus took off in a hurry on Tuesday.

He said the bus driver was running late and didn't care that he had not yet had a chance to sit down.

Cresswell said public safety should be paramount.

"When I rang the bus depot, a manager told me that in their opinion it is crucial for the buses to be on time, but my opinion is that it should be about public safety," he said.

"The problem I have is that I feel bus drivers are not waiting enough for people to sit down," he said.

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Buses 'put schedule before user safety'