Paulstac

Thanks for pointing out my “bigotry”, I’ll work on that going forward. Yes, I probably shouldn’t have suggested people keep quiet, but the point I was trying to make, perhaps a little too forcefully was the bus drivers behaviour was in my (humble) opinion indefensible. For 2 reasons 1) If he honestly didn’t know where it was, he should have made some effort to help the passenger. In my opinion any decent person would do that. 2) There is a bus stop called Coleridge Road, right next to a huge complex of buildings with a big sign on the front saying “English Institute of sport”. He drives a bus past it. He knew exactly where it was. To answer your question about what would I do if a blind person asked me a question I didn’t know the answer to - I would try to help, or at the very least be polite to them. That's why i walked over to the bus station with him, and helped him get on a bus. What would you do? The driver did neither. Someone else pointed out, you only have 1 side of the story. That is of course correct, but would add, there’s not really much of an incentive for me to make this up Of course, you can misconstrue a situation, but I didn’t. He was rude and unhelpful to someone who couldn’t see. That is the tragedy of this, and any debate about whether he knew where it was, or whether I’m a bigot or not, doesn’t change this one simple fact. He could and should have made an effort to help a vulnerable passenger I'm quite surprised that people are trying to make excuses for his behaviour. But if people on here believe that the appropriate response to a request for help for a nearly blind person is to basically say no, then fair enough, that's your opinion. Its not mine though I found the incident quite shocking, as I really felt for the poor bloke who was trying to navigate a strange city.

You'd be annoyed if someone asked you to help a blind person? You are indeed a charmer if a "bigot" is someone who is intolerant to rude and unhelpful members of society, then yes I'm a bigot. Slightly odd way to describe someone who has tried to help a partially sighted person around Sheffield Maybe I am ranting a little, but i found this guys behaviour way below what I would expect from any decent person.

This shows how unhelpful the driver was. I asked him to tell the guy when he got to the English Institute of Sport on Coleridge Road. The bus stop is called Coleridge Road and it is right next to a huge building with massive signage clearly reading "English Institute of Sport" Anyone trying to defend the drivers actions should probably be quiet from this point onwards. He knew exactly where it was, but would not tell a nearly blind man when he got there. What a grim human being. No if's or but's

No Tim1, but he could have tried to help a near blind passenger get to where he was trying to. We had all the information he needed but he made no effort to help. Why are you trying to defend such a heartless idiot? If you or someone in your family was in a similar position wouldn't you want or expect a little bit of help?

I think if the driver knew or not where the EIS is, is probably irrelevant. The issue was, when asked to help a vulnerable passenger he basically said no. If he really didn’t know where it was, the decent thing to do would have been to try and find out some more information. Perhaps ask what part of town it was in or was it near anything, ask to see it on a map (we were both holding iphones), radio his control centre, shout across to another driver, ask a passenger, look in the A to Z he probably had stashed in his cab, or even just offer to look out for it as he drove along. If he was incapable of any of those actions, he could have at least been apologetic and said “I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid I don’t know where that it is”. But no. Even that was beyond him. He blurted out, before I’d even finished speaking “I have absolutely no idea where that is” with a look on his face like I had just tried to relieve myself on his bus. To the person who asked if I’d reported him – Yes, I have. It made be quite angry seeing someone be so horrible to someone else who clearly needed a little help. I haven’t heard back though. To the person who said don’t judge Sheffield – I’m not. I had a great time when I lived there and am very fond of the city. Its just a shame my most recent visit has been tainted by having to interact with such a callous idiot. But the fact he is driving a bus around Sheffield, does by default make him an ambassador of the city, a duty he’s unfit to perform. I don’t think he was having a bad day, and got the impression his response would be the same for any unfortunate passenger seeking assistance or advice. For the record, I’m pretty sure he knew where the EIS was. He drives a bus along a route that goes very close to it and said no before I’d even finished asking him.

I’ve never posted on here before, but felt compelled to do so, after an incident I was involved in this morning. I lived in Sheffield for approximately 12 years but moved away a few years ago. My over riding memory of living here was of a very friendly city, with the bus drivers in particular being an accommodating bunch. When I was finding my way around the city for the first time, they’d happily shout out when we’d reached the destination I was aiming for. Unfortunately that memory was severely sullied this morning. After a family holiday in the lakes, we stopped off in Sheffield to break up the journey and show my kids the delights of Sheffield. This morning we were all admiring the water feature by the train station when a young guy, who was visually impaired came over and asked where he could catch a number 69 bus from. It was pretty obvious he was visually impaired as he was using a white stick and was clearly having issues negotiation an unfamiliar environment. I offered to walk him over to the bus station and help find out which stop he needed. As we were chatting walking over he told me had travelled up from Derby to take part in a partially sighted sports event at the English Institute of Sport, on Coleridge Road. Normally, he would travel with a friend, but no-one was available today, so he’d travelled unaccompanied. Fair play to him. It must be daunting travelling alone when you’re nearly blind. Anyway, we found out where the bus was going from (no thanks to the staff at the Information desk) and I waited with him at the stop until it arrived. When it did, I explained to the driver the lad was partially sighted, and could he tell him when to get off at Coleridge Road. To say the driver was unhelpful would be an understatement. In a fashion that could only be described as rude and surly, the driver’s response was “no, I don’t know where that is.” So, I showed him the full address on the guys phone screen and said “ he needs to get to the English Institute of Sport on Coleridge Road, can you tell him when to get off”. The driver was even ruder this time, and could barely disguise his contempt as he snarled “I have absolutely no idea where that is.” Thankfully, a passenger standing behind us had realised what a t*** the driver was being, and said “don’t worry mate, I can tell you when to get off.” At that point, I wished the young lad well, and left him in the capable hands of his fellow passenger. This driver made absolutely no effort to help a passenger who was nearly blind and in fact was incredibly rude. In short, when asked to help a nearly blind traveller, he said no. This bus driver is a terrible ambassador for the fine city of Sheffield. Both my and, no doubt, the visually impaired young visitor from Derby’s impression of Sheffield was severely soured by this unpleasant incident. I’ve been in touch with First South Yorkshire, and have given them details of the time and route of the bus, so hopefully they’ll be speaking to this unpleasant specimen and asking him to explain his lack of empathy.