Éimí Mhic an Ridire

This afternoon, I was publicly denied a public service. A bus. Something we all use nearly every day to get around. I was denied for a simple reason; because I am disabled.

I was trying to get home from an appointment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. The driver of the First Bus Aberdeen 9U service refused to let me on his bus. His justification? An incorrect "opinion" that my valid National Entitlement Card (NEC) wasn't accepted on that route. He wasn't just wrong. He was hostile. And his actions were not just poor service; they were discriminatory and illegal.

The Law vs. The Driver's "Opinion"

He claimed the 9U is a "University service." This is false. The driver himself admitted that the 9U accepts fares from the general public.

The Evidence

• The bus was displaying the 9U Aberdeen University destination on its front and side displays.
• The driver was accepting passengers who were not University staff or students — if they weren't using an NEC card.
• There was zero signage about any restrictions to concessionary travel.

I have recorded video of the incident. I am choosing not to make this video public. My goal is corporate accountability and policy change, not to subject an individual driver to public harassment.

The Insult: First Bus's Corporate Response

"I was sorry to read your comments..." "I have logged the incident and provided the local management team with all the information. They will review the incident as part of regular performance meetings..."

This is a disgrace. My complaint is not "feedback." My report of an illegal act is not "comments." When I escalated, their new official line was that the 9U is a private "Shuttle Service" only for University users — a direct contradiction of what their own driver admitted.

The National Sickness: This is Bigger Than First Bus

This isn't one bad apple. The entire transport system in Scotland is built on the idea that disabled people are an afterthought. Look no further than ScotRail:

Wheelchair space on our trains is restricted to Standard Class carriages [...] First Class areas don't have spaces for wheelchair users and there's no wheelchair access to accessible toilets from First Class.
— ScotRail Accessible Travel Policy

That is a policy that tells every disabled person: "You are a second-class citizen. You can ride our trains, but only where we've put you."

This Is Our Fight

My humiliation on the 9U and ScotRail's discriminatory seating plan are two heads of the same monster: a transport system that views disabled people as a low-priority problem to be managed, not as equal customers to be served. This has to stop.