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Campaign over bus travel clampdown - COMMENT ON THIS STORY
THE head of a Scarbor- ough-based charity has called for bus concessions for sight-impaired people at certain times of the day to be reinstated.
Viv Wright, chief officer of Scarborough Blind and Partially Sighted Society, is urging visually impaired people to write to Scarborough Council to complain about their treatment under the Disability Discrimination Act.
Previously, any sight- impaired person with a bus pass who had an early hospital appointment was allowed to travel before 9am.
However, that concession was removed in 2008 on the grounds of cost and because the council said it was incompatible with new computerised scanners which have been introduced on the region's buses.
Mrs Wright, who is campaigning to have the concession reinstated, said: "I have written to the borough and county councils and raised the matter at the Local Transport Forum in December last year.
"I sent a full report to Cllr Godfrey Allanson prior to that meeting asking for that concession to be reinstated, and also allowing all disabled people with passes to travel before 9am when the buses are usually half empty.
"Many were finding that trying to get on a bus in any of the villages on the route to Scarborough after 9am was an impossibility because they were full. I was assured the matter was being referred to the relevant committee for consideration. Not surprisingly I still haven't heard anything further on the subject.
"However, as a result of this decision by the Local Government Ombudsman, I have written to both Cllr Allanson and Scarborough Council's finance officer drawing their attention to the report and requesting that the concession to travel prior to 9am be reintroduced."
The council has said it is not possible to reintroduce the scheme due to practical and financial reasons, but Mrs Wright said: "We will actively continue our campaign for disabled people to travel prior to 9am throughout the area.
"It is virtually impossible for our members to travel by bus to Scarborough unless they catch one of the early buses, when they have to pay the full fare."
If anyone would like advice before writing to the council, or would like to support the campaign, they can contact Mrs Wright on (01723) 354417 or by emailing scarbroblind@live.co.uk
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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