AN ALTONA woman who is classified by her surgeon as “partially disabled” after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction says Metro staff refused to help as she unsuccessfully tried for an hour to board overcrowded replacement buses at Sunshine station.
Metro retorted that “buses by definition cannot be overcrowded because they have a maximum capacity”.
Western Metropolitan Greens Colleen Hartland will next week raise the matter in State Parliament.
Annaliese Bishop caught the 903 bus from Altona to Sunshine about 10am on August 12.
She arrived at Sunshine to find trains to Footscray had been replaced by buses.
In an anguished Facebook message on the day, Ms Bishop stated: “I have been trying, as a temporary disabled person, to get a rail replacement bus from Sunshine to the city, but they are all packed.
“I can’t stand up, there’s no seats, and the Metro customer service guy won’t help me get on, nor will any of the other four people they have standing around supposedly to help customers. Nor will the bus drivers.
“I can’t get to the city from here and it is blatant discrimination by Metro.”
According to Metro, two buses were departing Sunshine at 20-minute intervals, followed by a bus departing nine minutes later.
Ms Bishop, who recently underwent surgery after tearing two tendons “almost off the bone”, told the Weekly she tried to get on eight buses before giving up and returning to Altona.
“I tried to get on the first one and it was chockas. I couldn’t get on, there were just too many people. I went down to the second one and same deal. I watched a guy with an artificial leg get on the fourth bus – he was really lucky.
“I almost managed to get on No.5 and I got shoved out of the way.
“When seven and eight turned up, I couldn’t get on.
“Then I gave up and went home. I’d been at the bus stop for an hour by that point and I thought, this is nuts.
“An elderly lady got shoved against a wall.
“I’m only temporarily disabled – boy, has it been an eye-opening experience.”
Metro spokesman Daniel Hoare said there was no requirement for staff to assist by requesting other customers to vacate any seat on a bus for a person with specific needs.
“When a customer with specific needs requires a taxi, it is organised by Metro staff and, in this case, the cost is borne by the regional rail link project,” he said.
“There were two incidents [on August 12] where customers in wheelchairs did not board buses and a taxi was offered.”
Mr Hoare said customer service staff were not qualified to determine the level of disability of commuters. Rather, they arranged alternative transport when asked to assist.
Ms Hartland said Metro was running a train service and if it ran replacement buses then it “must be able to manage people with a disability”.
