Mums on way to pick up kids from school 'chucked off' city bus

TWO Exeter mums have spoken out after they were forced off a bus with their prams in the city centre.

Anne-Marie Ingledew, 27, from Stoke Hill, and her friend Paula Hoer, 28, from Whipton, said a driver ordered them to get off to make room for a disabled passenger in a wheelchair.

Bus firm Stagecoach said staff were trained to deal with incidents, and it would be investigating.

Ms Ingledew said that she and Ms Hoer got on the bus outside the BHS store in the city centre.

"We both have toddlers, and were on our way to fetch them from school, so we had prams with us.

"Then at Poundland, in Sidwell Street, the driver told Paula and I to get off the bus with our prams because there was a person in a wheelchair at the stop who took priority.

"I said I would be late to get my daughter and could we have our money back for the ticket and he said 'no'. He just chucked us off."

She said they had contacted Stagecoach and were told that the driver should have asked them to fold the prams and sit at the back.

She said: "The driver was very short. No pleases, no thank yous. Because of that, we had to take a taxi to the school, costing us £15.30, and I was 20 minutes late to pick up my four-year-old daughter Chloe who was crying for me. It also meant that the staff at her school were late picking up their children."

Ms Hoer added: "I was disgusted and other passengers on the bus were shocked, too, and said they couldn't believe it. We would like some kind of compensation.

"The driver was so offish, blunt and very rude to us. They need to be taught some manners. I don't really use buses and that is probably why."

Michelle Hargreaves, managing director of Stagecoach South West, said the incident was concerning.

"We have spent a great deal of time training our staff in ensuring they deal with issues which may arise while operating our services," she said.

"We educate our staff to assist all our customers, including wheelchair users, and if anyone is occupying the wheelchair space, drivers politely ask customers to fold down push-chairs and move further into the vehicle.

"It would appear in this instance the driver may not have advised the customers with push-chairs of this and we will investigate this matter further.

"I would ask the lady in question to contact us with her details and we will, of course, refund her for the unused tickets."