A mum said a bus company "should be ashamed" after a driver refused to let her put her pram in the designated spot on board - leaving her to carry both of her children throughout the journey. She said it left her fearing for their safety.
The mother-of-two, 32, caught a Stagecoach bus in Hull last Monday (June 13) in order to take her baby to a medical appointment. She also had her other young child with her.
However, she was confused to be told that she was not allowed to put her pram in one of the spaces designed for them. She alleges that when she got on, the driver told her that there were three prams on board, although she believed there was only one.
The mum has now complained and the bus firm said the driver in question was being retrained to avoid another situation like it from happening again, reports HullLive.
She said: "Stagecoach should be ashamed. It's hard enough traveling alone with a baby without the need for unnecessary actions like that of the driver.
"The driver had no need to do this and didn't even offer any assistance. They just wanted to make my life difficult when we had to get to town for a medical appointment for my young son who's only nine months old.
"I didn't feel safe holding him on the bus as he's quite a wriggler and there was no need to collapse my buggy in the first place. If a wheelchair came on, I would have happily moved or folded mine down.
"My baby is still very young in my eyes and shouldn't have to be held on a bus moving around. I'm just so angry that customers get treated this way."
A spokesperson for Stagecoach East Midlands said: "We take all customer complaints extremely seriously and so when this matter was brought to our attention, by Hull Live, we immediately investigated the incident. We found that there was indeed space for the buggy and the customer should have been allowed to leave it in the allocated space.
"Our policy allows space for up to two buggies unless a wheelchair comes on board. At this point, the wheelchair user would take priority and the buggy would need to be closed down.
"We apologise unreservedly to the customer involved and for any inconvenience caused. We have responded to the complaint by taking immediate action to ensure the driver is retrained, in regards to this specific buggy policy and customer service in general."
