Wheelchair user told to go to main depot to find accessible bus

Wheelchair user Conor McAuley and his family were left stranded at a bus stop in Drogheda

Bus Éireann has apologised to a young man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy when he could not get public transport home after a family occasion.

Wheelchair user Conor McAuley and his family were left stranded at a bus stop in Drogheda, Co Louth, when a bus, which was inaccessible to him, pulled up as they were waiting to go home after celebrating their mother's birthday.

Luckily, Conor's dad was able to go on the bus to the family home in Mornington, Co Meath, and drive back in their wheelchair-accessible van to collect the family, who were waiting at the side of the road.

"We had been celebrating my mam's 50th birthday on March 18 and were waiting at the bus stop for about 20 minutes when a non-accessible coach turned up and I couldn't get on," Conor said.

"We were told we would have to walk to the main depot to see if there were any accessible buses that could bring us, which wasn't feasible.

"My dad wasn't drinking so he went home on the bus and drove our accessible van back to collect us to bring us to our house.

It's not the first time that this has happened. Normally, I'm at a bus stop and an inaccessible coach will come along and won't even stop because they know I can't get on.

"It was my mam's 50th and we were having such a great time until this incident dampened the mood.

"Bus Éireann should have accessible transport on all rural routes. It's not fair that mobility has to be an issue.

"People with mobility issues should be able to get on any bus like anyone else without feeling embarrassed or that they are holding anyone up or to have fears that they will be left behind."

'We were told we would have to walk to the main depot to see if there were any accessible buses that could bring us, which wasn't feasible.'

In a statement, the company said: "Bus Éireann is very sorry to learn of the difficulties experienced by Conor McAuley in travelling with us earlier this month.

"The D1 route should have been served by an accessible vehicle, and all our town services are operated by fully accessible, low-floor vehicles.

"We have investigated this incident and unfortunately, this did not occur on that occasion for operational reasons, negatively impacting him and his family.

"We are focused on improving our services for people with disabilities and will look for solutions to prevent a recurrence of this situation."