Stagecoach bus ‘leaves blind woman at side of country road a mile from home’

A blind woman claims that she was left “incredibly frightened” when a bus left her on a rural roadside in the dark around a mile from her village home.

Simone Woods, 51, was travelling with her guide dog Mervin on the 350 bus from Scunthorpe to Winteringham, after finishing her shift at Scunthorpe General Hospital. However, due to roadworks in Winteringham, the bus driver said that he was unable to drive into the village and dropped her at a crossroads near Winterton.

Simone said she then had to walk into the village on an unlit road with no footpath, with only the light from her phone to help her guide dog find the way. “All the cars down there were driving at the national speed limit with their lights on full beam, and I was all in black because I wasn’t expecting to have to walk home in the dark on an unlit road with no footpath. The cars were zooming past and I was so scared,” she added.

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Stagecoach has apologised to Simone for “any discomfort and inconvenience experienced”. The bus operator said that there had been several safety issues of concern due to ongoing roadworks, which had been expressed to Simone at the time. Staff had “tried their best” to balance these concerns with the desire to assist her.

Simone has been registered blind for more than two years after suffering with glaucoma. She has no vision on her right side and only tunnel vision on her left side.

Stagecoach had announced that they would not be serving Winteringham due to roadworks between Monday, November 20 and Friday, December 1. However, SImone had used the bus on Tuesday November 28, and had been taken into the village without issue.

On the Wednesday, Simone used the bus again and this time the driver had to take an alternative route to reach the village, but still managed to drop her off near her home. Before travelling on the Thursday, Simone claimed that she rang Stagecoach to ask if the bus would be able to get into the village that evening.

She claimed: “I was told that the driver could use his discretion on whether or not to take the village road, and that as I had additional needs they had a duty of care for my safety. They said they knew the roadworks were finishing that evening and that I’d be fine.”

“On getting on the bus I asked for Winteringham. Initially the driver said, ‘yes that’s fine’, but then he said that one of the villages was closed. I told him the village wasn’t closed and the roadworks were finished and that if the middle road was still closed, he could use Cliff Road, like the driver the night before.”

She claimed that the driver said he was worried about getting stuck. “There was no way he would get stuck as there is a large turning circle in the village where the buses can turn if needed,” Simone added.

Simone said that when the bus arrived in Winterton, the town immediately to the south of Winteringham, the driver contacted his boss. She claimed that the driver was told that he could not drive the bus into Winteringham because the village was closed.

Simone claimed that the driver told his boss that she was a woman with a dog and did not tell him that she was blind or that her dog was a guide dog. She was then dropped at a crossroads south of the village and the bus left.

“All of this would have been bad enough, except the road wasn’t closed, it was now open again, with traffic going both ways,” Simone said. “It was incredibly scary. I was putting the light on my phone for my dog but he was quite stressed out as well, and by the time I got home I was in floods of tears.

“My guide dog and I walked the mile and a bit into the village with only the light of my phone to guide my dog. I was cold and incredibly frightened, I really feel this could have been avoided.

“Stagecoach told me that my safety was their priority and that they were aware the roadworks were finishing that evening. It was an awful experience.”

A spokesperson for Stagecoach East Midlands told Scunthorpe Live: “We are aware of an incident involving a passenger onboard our 350 service into Winteringham on Thursday, November 30. We take all incidents and concerns from passengers very seriously, and express our sincere apologies for any discomfort and inconvenience experienced by the passenger.

“Due to the ongoing roadworks there were several safety issues of concern, of which our driver expressed to the passenger at the time, and did their very best to balance safety concerns with the desire to assist her.

“We want to clarify that our drivers are responsible for making safety-related decisions based on their discretion and the information available to them at the time. It’s essential to recognise that road conditions and safety considerations can change from one day to another. We are continuing to investigate this incident, and will take the necessary steps to ensure this type of situation is handled better in the future and to continue providing a safe and reliable public transport service for all of our passengers.”

Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe