Lothian Buses bosses 'could be questioned' in buggy row
- Published
The new Alexander Dennis Enviro400 XLB vehicles can carry 100 people
Managers at the centre of a row over a lack of space for buggies and wheelchairs on a new fleet of Lothian buses could be questioned by councillors over the problem.
It is claimed that Lothian Buses' 42 eco-friendly 100-seater buses operating in Edinburgh have only a single space for either a buggy or wheelchair.
However, the company insists the area is large enough to accommodate both.
Lothian Buses said it welcomed speaking to councillors about the concerns.
A total of 3,700 people have signed a petition protesting at the new buses' lack of space for buggies.
Now two separate motions will be tabled at the city council's transport and environment committee on Thursday as councillors attempt to reach a solution.
'Moving forward'
Green councillor Melanie Main's motion calls on transport convener, Cllr Lesley Macinnes, to invite the chief executive of Lothian Buses, Richard Hall, and any relevant senior staff to appear in front of councillors to discuss the issues.
She said: "It's essential that the city's buses are accessible to all, including disabled people and parents or carers of young children.
"To have a single space shared by both wheelchair users and those with baby buggies is creating conflict between users and is simply not accessible.
"Lothian buses should be moving forwards on accessibility, not backwards, and I'm confident they will agree to firm action to address these problems."
A separate motion by Labour councillor Scot Arthur is calling on Lothian Buses to answer questions on what consultation took place with passengers before the new Alexander Dennis Enviro400 XLB vehicles were introduced, and also calls on Mr Hall to hold an open meeting with passengers, parents, senior citizens and disability support groups.
Alan Black, Lothian's head of service delivery, said: "The introduction of our new buses has been met with positive views from the majority of our customers who are travelling on them as part of the two million customer journeys we deliver each week.
"However, we recognise the importance of all the feedback we receive and we are happy to interact with the committee on the measures we are taking to ensure safety, comfort and accessibility across our mixed and varied fleet of almost 1,000 buses."