My friend is registered blind, he doesn't carry a white stick as he does have some sight, but he is entitled to a blind person's bus pass which he uses on a dialy basis, on both the supertram and stagecoach buses he has no trouble whats so ever. But in the past 3 weeks my friend has had his pass taken off him on 3 occasions (as he doesn't look blind???) and has also been yelled at down the bus to walk back up the bus and collect a ticket or have his pass re checked?? What is it with First is it just me or do you also think this is wrong and rather embarrasing for my friend.
:rant: :rant: :rant:

I would have thought that the drivers would have empathy with your friend since a lot of them are blind too.

I think your friend should be writing a stern letter to SYPTE and causing a fuss.

The sypte are useless,take this tram incident this morning,they cant even put a sign up at the tram terminus advising people that the tram isnt running. I mean for god sake they have a manned Park and ride site!.

That is ridiculous - how the hell can somebody 'tell' if someone isn't entitled to a pass they have?! They should make photos on the passes then if they think it's stolen.

What do you mean by 'taken off him'? Was it taken by the driver for a closer inspection and then returned? Maybe his pass is damaged and difficult to read? Maybe the photograph is not a good likeness? Maybe there are some counterfeit passes in circulation? Maybe the drivers were just doing their job conscientiously?

May be its cock and bull!

My sister has a friend who was refused service in a dark pub after stumbling straight into a stool on the way to the bar. He doesn't look blind either, but he's partially sighted.

aren't there laws against persecuting disabled people in this fashion steffi-bird?

make a written complaint - you might get something out of them. the newspapers love anythin like this.

Both he and his wife have been to transport executive and they have asked him to keep an incident book, including the number of the bus, time, date etc so they can look into it further

I am sure there will be a law someone within the disability discrimination act Strix yeah !!!!

and just how is a partially sighted person supposed to take those details down? or does he get a ticket he can keep?

This could well be harrassment covered by the DDA.

Another factor re hidden disabilities (including people who are not "obviously blind", some people with dyspraxia, people with certain learning difficulties etc) is the unhelpful attitude of many drivers if you ask them to let you know when a bus arrives in a particular place. I have asked a few in my time, when I am going to new areas, and nine times out of ten they are rude and at best non-commital about helping in this way. Not welcoming to people who don't know the area, not helpful to people whose hidden disability makes it hard to know when to get off the bus.

Funnily enough, I have never seen a driver have a problem with a leggy blonde female making such requests though.

What do you mean by 'taken off him'? Was it taken by the driver for a closer inspection and then returned? Maybe his pass is damaged and difficult to read? Maybe the photograph is not a good likeness? Maybe there are some counterfeit passes in circulation? Maybe the drivers were just doing their job conscientiously?

Exactly,,,,but then the facts (or lack of) in the first post are just a typical "All Bus Drivers are B****ds" thread the like of which are quite common on this forum.

The we see the friend of a friend type post in some lame attempt to back up the thread.
Yes there are many forged passes in circulation,however when closer inspection is requested,the holder thinks its personal and hey presto a Sheffield Forum Thread is born.

If a pass is retained as is quite clearly not the case here,then there is a problem with it,if the driver requests a closer inspection then again there must be a problem with the pass.

Maybe a new pass is required

This could well be harrassment covered by the DDA.

Another factor re hidden disabilities (including people who are not "obviously blind", some people with dyspraxia, people with certain learning difficulties etc) is the unhelpful attitude of many drivers if you ask them to let you know when a bus arrives in a particular place. I have asked a few in my time, when I am going to new areas, and nine times out of ten they are rude and at best non-commital about helping in this way. Not welcoming to people who don't know the area, not helpful to people whose hidden disability makes it hard to know when to get off the bus.

Funnily enough, I have never seen a driver have a problem with a leggy blonde female making such requests though.

How can this be harrassment?,how can people with hidden disabilities be helped when leaving a bus.
I wish people would put more thhought into idiotic rants before going off on one about how hard done to they all are and everyone is out to get them:loopy:

May be its cock and bull!

Best Post yet :hihi:

How can this be harrassment?,how can people with hidden disabilities be helped when leaving a bus.
I wish people would put more thhought into idiotic rants before going off on one about how hard done to they all are and everyone is out to get them:loopy:

This could be classed as discrimination under the DDA. You cannot take a bus pass off someone because "they dont look blind". Who do First think they are? Would they tip a wheelchair user out to test if they can walk?

I dont know all the facts granted, however i think you need to get real. People with "hidden" disabilities cannot be helped unless they request it, however if someone shows you a blind persons pass you'd imagine that it was pretty obvious to the driver that they were blind? Or is that just too logical? Maybee the driver just couldnt stretch to saying "Suse me sir, this is your stop"? That would help?

First really wind me up.

"How can this be harrassment?,how can people with hidden disabilities be helped when leaving a bus.
I wish people would put more thhought into idiotic rants before going off on one about how hard done to they all are and everyone is out to get them"

a. it is harrassment to continually make an assumption that just because someone does not have a guide dog or a white stick that they are "pretending" to be visually impaired and have a pass under false pretences. Bus drivers should be trained to know that some blind people are not obviously blind. This is similar to when people make an assumption that someone who walks out of a car with a disabled sticker is "faking it", when in fact there are many people who are entitled to such a sticker because they can only walk short distances.


b. What I was referring to (which may not have been clear to you, but no need to go into an offensive rant and suggest through your "smiley" that I am insane) is when people who, for visual impairment or other hidden disability reasons cannot tell when the bus has come to the stop they need to get off at. All the driver needs to do is shout "we're at [wherever]". They have no problem doing this if it is an attractive woman, but are rude and unhelpful (in general) when other people ask for this guidance.

Just to confirm the bus pass does have a very visable photo on and is in very good condition, as it has just been replaced due to the original being taken by a bus driver.

I haven't posted this to make all bus drivers look bad that was not my point, it was just a post to see if this has happened to others and if other people thought it was wrong that he was treated in this way.

How can this be harrassment?,how can people with hidden disabilities be helped when leaving a bus.
I wish people would put more thhought into idiotic rants before going off on one about how hard done to they all are and everyone is out to get them:loopy:
Yes I'd like to second this sentiment. All bus drivers are absolute paragons of courtesy. They know everything about customer care and could give lessons in not letting their mood on any given day effect how they treat passengers. Those drivers who do the 52 run from Hillsborough are perfect examples of this best practice.......

"How can this be harrassment?,how can people with hidden disabilities be helped when leaving a bus.
I wish people would put more thhought into idiotic rants before going off on one about how hard done to they all are and everyone is out to get them"

a. it is harrassment to continually make an assumption that just because someone does not have a guide dog or a white stick that they are "pretending" to be visually impaired and have a pass under false pretences. Bus drivers should be trained to know that some blind people are not obviously blind. This is similar to when people make an assumption that someone who walks out of a car with a disabled sticker is "faking it", when in fact there are many people who are entitled to such a sticker because they can only walk short distances.


b. What I was referring to (which may not have been clear to you, but no need to go into an offensive rant and suggest through your "smiley" that I am insane) is when people who, for visual impairment or other hidden disability reasons cannot tell when the bus has come to the stop they need to get off at. All the driver needs to do is shout "we're at [wherever]". They have no problem doing this if it is an attractive woman, but are rude and unhelpful (in general) when other people ask for this guidance.

what colour is the sky in your world?,you yourself are making assumptions in your post.

My sister has a friend who was refused service in a dark pub after stumbling straight into a stool on the way to the bar. He doesn't look blind either, but he's partially sighted.

aren't there laws against persecuting disabled people in this fashion steffi-bird?

There are indeed – the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 outlaws (1) less favourable treatment for a reason related to disability and (2) failure by a service provider to make reasonable adjustments so as to make their services accessible to disabled people.

I’ve recently started a job doing legal advice on this issue – if you need to contact me at Sheffield Law Centre, the number is 273 1888. The point is that, to quite the Disability Rights Commission, “disabled people should have the same quality of service as any other member of the public.”

From what I can remember, the passes have the keeper's photograph, name & postcode. They also have a red spot on the protective cover. They are usually placed inside a bright orange wallet (unlike the usual blue ones) so that a bus can stop for the passenger without them seeing the bus coming etc.

If I am making any assumption it is in regard to the general attitude of bus drivers to those asking for help in letting them know when the bus reaches their destination.

I don't regard this as an assumption, if anything it is a generalisation (which is why I said "in general"). It is based on decades of personal experience (especially when travelling in an unfamiliar area where there is no way of recognising where one's stop should be) and of observing responses to other people's requests.

I have no idea what your reference to the colour of the sky is about.

One of my good pals is partially sighted and although she had managed for 25 years without a white stick or a guide dog she eventually ended up getting a guide dog, not because she couldn't manage to get around by herself but because other people made life so dificult for her. She decided a dog would be better less chance of ending up in prison for GBH with a dog (as opposed to a stick)!

Anyway, now that people can see that she has a disability her life has improved a great deal, she is a lot more confident and is quite independent.

I am not suggesting that everyone gets a guide dog, just merely pointing out the effects of smaill minded individuals.

Oh yeah and she did tell me the other day that a first bus driver asked her to pay for the dog to go on the bus!! what a joke.

Just so you know if you do write to first and put a complaint in they may well send you a free Seven day saver - great when you already get free travel. Is that what they call insult to injury or is it about treating everyone the same?