Courtesy Barrhead News

ELDERLY passengers are allowing double decker buses to pass them at bus stops due to safety fears, according to Barrhead's community council.

In a list of complaints issued to the council by concerned residents, several claims including erratic driving, health and safety fears and disabled access were brought to the attention of local service provider McGill's.

This follows an alleged incident in which an 85-year-old passenger fell from her seat on a double decker bus as it turned a corner.

A community council spokeswoman said: "The use of double decker buses that are particularly unfriendly for the elderly concerns us.

"We find that these buses have no adequate seating downstairs and inadequate heating, leaving them cold as there is also a double door which is unused.

"One woman contacted the community council after falling on one of the buses. She was 85 and was prepared to speak to the representatives of McGill's, but some elderly will actually let a double decker bus pass them at bus stops rather than get on."

East Renfrewshire Council undertook a revamp of the areas bus stops in recent years, raising kerbs at bus stops to allow easier boarding for disabled and elderly passengers.

However, the community council says easy access is still a problem.

The spokeswoman said: "Much of the time drivers will not stop at the raised kerb or will stop too far away from it, forcing elderly or disabled people to step down on to the road to access the bus.

"We have also had complaints of drivers not waiting until passengers are seated - no matter the age group."

McGill's has been the town's sole bus service operator since it took over Arriva's West of Scotland service earlier this year.

McGill's spokeswoman Isabelle Murray said it had received no direct complaints from passengers about falling from their seats, and urged anyone affected to call the firm on 08000 51 56 51 with more details.

She said: "Double deckers have been assigned to a number of local routes in response to capacity issues, where more seats were required.

"A standard single decker can carry 40 passengers whereas a double decker can accommodate 68 passengers. We have passenger notices on all double deckers asking that able-bodied passengers make use of the upstairs seating, to allow less able passengers to access the seats on the lower deck.

"We would ask passengers to be considerate of others and make use of the upstairs seating, if they are able to.

"The company makes use of mystery shoppers across all routes and intend to target Barrhead routes to ensure that our high levels of customer care are being adhered to by all drivers."

The community council also highlighted issues with the Barrhead circular route, which it says has inadequate access for disabled or elderly.

However, McGill's say that the route is already costing the company thousands to continue operating.

Ms Murray said: "We note that residents want Disability Discrimination Act-compliant, stepless entrance buses on the 52 Barrhead circular route.

"The harsh, economic reality is that the 52 route continues to operate at a loss and is subsidised by the company to the tune of £30,000 a year. To replace the current vehicles with DDA minibuses would reduce the carrying capacity on the route. It would also require a large investment and result in a large increase in running costs and a large fares increase. It would not be prudent for McGill's or for our passengers.

"It is worth mentioning that Renfrewshire enjoys the lowest bus fares in Scotland, by quite some margin."

The company also said that parking around bus stops was a problem and that it would be reporting the registration numbers of cars illegally parked to the council.