New mum's shock at bus pram ban

BUS drivers in Edinburgh have been told not to allow prams on board to keep the space free for wheelchair users.

Lothian Buses drivers have been given the instruction as the company seeks to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.

While parents with fold-up buggies are still allowed on – on the understanding the buggies will be folded if a disabled passenger boards the bus – traditional prams have been outlawed.

One young mum said she only discovered the new rules on a trip into town at the weekend.

Kirsti Mill and her newborn son Oakley waited for an hour in Princes Street on Saturday before a bus driver took pity on them. They had caught the bus earlier that day from Wester Hailes without any problems.

She and her mother Arlene, 41, from Hailesland Gardens, are angry that passengers were not informed of the change. They say that it is unfair on parents of young children, who may rely on the buses in order to get around the city.

Kirsti, 23, a mother-of-two, said: "It was the first time I'd taken Oakley out in his new pram. I couldn't believe it when ten went past and they wouldn't let us on."

Her mother added: "I think it's shocking. We only managed to get home because there was a nice bus driver. He had to call his manager and they said he could let us on this time.

"We had a new pram and it cost a lot of money. I think they're safer than fold-up buggies for young babies.

"I can understand their point about disabled access, but this feels like discrimination against parents. It's going to be really hard for Kirsti to get out and about if she can't take the pram on the bus.

"The thing that makes me really angry is there's no publicity about this. Every parent needs to know about it, but there are no signs on the buses or bus stops."

Lothian Buses said the move was a requirement of the Disability Discrimination Act and applied nationwide, but it had recently clarified the rules to its drivers.

A spokesman said: "In order to ensure that, as far as possible, wheelchairs can be accommodated on our vehicles, we are unable to carry prams as they cannot be folded. We can, however, carry one unfolded buggy if the wheelchair space is unoccupied."

He said the design of the buses only allowed one wheelchair or unfolded buggy. Drivers are required by law to ask passengers to move to allow space for a wheelchair user.

A spokesman for First in Scotland East said: "We allow prams and buggies on our low-floored buses, if there's space available."