Lothian Buses HQ is the next stop in pram ban campaign

Published on Monday 13 October 2008 10:19

MOTHERS were planning to protest outside Lothian Buses' headquarters today as they continue their fight to allow prams on buses.

Former Labour leader Wendy Alexander is the latest to back their campaign, saying the company has made the wrong decision in completely banning non-folding prams and buggies.

She joins Lothians MSPs Kenny MacAskill and Shirley Anne Somerville, who are also supporting equal access for parents with babies.

More than 1400 people have signed a petition and the Scottish Parliament's petition committee is due to consider their case on November 4.

Lothian Buses claims its ban is in line with the Disability Discrimination Act, as they are ensuring there is space available for a passenger with a wheelchair. But disability groups have said it is unnecessary and that most parents are happy to leave the space if it is required.

Ms Alexander, who is a mother of young twins, wrote to the campaigners expressing her support. She said: "I have every sympathy. This is the wrong decision by Lothian."

Now parents and their children are planning to collect signatures outside Lothian Buses HQ today. They were set to display balloons with their logo on and hand posters to the company managers. They were setting up a stall on Princes Street to gather more signatures this afternoon.

Caroline Burgess, 27, from Barnton, one of the leading campaigners, said: "We don't want to antagonise bus drivers – we want to show our support for them. They've been put in a very difficult position."

"We would like to see them working with us on an education campaign, to ensure all passengers show consideration for people in wheelchairs."

Gillian Richards, 36, a graphic designer and mother-of-twins from Willowbrae, has designed a poster highlighting the huge variety of prams and buggies available. She said it shows the difficult position drivers are put in as they are expected to know which types are allowed on.

She said: "We want to show them the campaign is going on. We've already shown Lothian Buses the amount of support the public have given us.

"We are just looking for a compromise. If a mother has to get off a bus to make way for a disabled person, then they should offer her a forward ticket so she can get on the next one."

Catriona Black, who started the petition, said: "We just want to continue putting pressure on them. We don't want to cause any disruption.

"If this is successful, then we would like to see a wider campaign to increase access for everyone on buses. It should be possible to design new buses with space for more than one wheelchair or pram."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission for Scotland has already called for a "more flexible approach" and said wheelchair access should not mean banning prams.

The city council has also called for an end to the "fiasco" and is set to meet Lothian Buses in the next few weeks to discuss their policy.