An Edinburgh youth worker has called on Lothian Bus drivers to be "more considerate" after he had to step in to pay for a high school pupil’s bus fare when the lad's Young Scot card bounced.
Tristyn Trusler, 24, a volunteer youth worker in the capital, says he hopes that certain bus drivers would "assess each situation" as "opposed to robotically following policy" after the driver of a bus at Balerno High School was about to refuse entry to a young pupil.
The incident is understood to have taken place at around 1.10pm on Tuesday May 16 on a 44 service travelling towards Wallyford. A group of S1 or S2 pupils were said to have got on heading to lunch only for two of their Young Scot cards to be declined by the bus scanner.
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Tristyn said that the first boy was lucky as his friend had change but that the second boy was left to look embarrassed after the driver said that he would not be allowed to ride the bus. This is when the youth worker stepped in and paid for the young lad to join his friends.
But Tristyn claimed that the bus driver was rude to him when he tried to plead the young lad's case, as he says young people are entitled to free bus travel in Edinburgh. He argues that with two cards being rejected, there must have been an issue with the scanner.
“The 44 bus had stopped outside of Balerno high school on its way to Wallyford when a group of young lads who must have been in first or second year were queueing to get on,” he said.
“The first youngster tried to board with his pass, though it declined and the driver asked him to pay. The boy thankfully had money and was able to resolve the issue.
“A couple more of their friends got on with working passes. Then a pass declined again, for a young lad and this time he didn't have any money.
“I could see he was getting a bit embarrassed so I stepped in. I first politely asked the driver to let him on, as he could see he was a school kid and off to lunch, there is free bus travel for minors in Scotland.
“I mentioned his duty of care but his reply was that he was following their policy and he had no duty of care to young people until night time. This was where I started to get frustrated, I told the boy to board with his friends and I would pay.
“My own bank card declined but thankfully my aunt was on the phone and sent me enough money to buy a couple of adult singles. Whilst I had been waiting for the money to be sent, I discussed the issue more with the bus driver, stating that he clearly had a pass and that one of his other friends' pass had been declined as well, and that he should be more compassionate.
“He told me to not intervene and to sit down. This felt like I was being spoken down too from the tone he was using. I told him that I’d be reporting the issue to his manager and his response was to tell me that I was being recorded.
“For the rest of the journey it was awkward. I felt really bad for the boy, as he got off for lunch but he thanked me and I said no problem. It was nice to see him walk off with all his friends and not let the embarrassment of the situation get to him.
“When I got off at my stop, I made the new driver aware that there had potentially been a card reading issue with the Young Scots cards, as I didn't want any young person to have to go through that whilst returning home. I'm not sure if the driver was just having a bad day, he seemed like he was in a blunt kind of mood and I do understand we are all human.”
Tristyn went on to say that it saddened him that he had to intervene as someone who suffers from extreme anxiety and depression. He added that the bus was full of adults that also could have spoken up.
“I think there's little compassion left in our society, it's a very selfish scent that's in the air these days”, he continued.
“I think there are adults who don't hold such stigma and I think there are adults who hold a biased attitude towards the youth, seeing them as below them. However this is not to say that adults can't be subjected to the same kind of prejudice.
“It’s a very difficult time for humanity as a whole. I can understand to why some bus drivers are cautious of young people, due to the rising cases of violent behaviour on busses, under age drinking, vaping, shouting etc.
“However I don't think it's fair to subject all young people to this kind of suspicion and especially in the hours of school when a young boy is only trying to get his lunch with his fellow students. We should assess each situation opposed to robotically following policy.”
A spokesperson for Lothian said: “Lothian is committed to delivering safe, reliable public transport for all of our customers. We always encourage customers to contact us directly if they have any concerns regarding their travel to allow us to establish the facts and carry out a full investigation.”
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