A partially-sighted man has accused Cardiff Bus drivers of routinely flouting equality laws by treating him in an “abusive and aggressive” manner.
Shafiq Sabir, 54, of Grangetown, who lost his sight as a child, claims he is regularly discriminated against by Cardiff Bus drivers.
“They don’t help me get on and off the bus or tell me what the bus number is,” Shafiq said.
“The scanning system has made things worse. Once I was getting on a bus, and instead of scanning my card for me, the driver said ‘It’s not my job to scan it’.
“Then he grabbed my arm and forced me to scan the bus pass myself.
“Another time my bus got diverted and I was stranded in the night. I asked bus drivers for help and no-one would tell me which bus to change to. I ended up having to walk all the way home.”
Shafiq, who has made numerous complaints to Cardiff Bus, added: “It is frightening when you get abuse like that and it doesn’t encourage you to use the bus.
“Bus drivers need to follow the equality laws. It is not their duty to judge and discriminate against me.”
Cardiff Bus strongly refuted Shafiq’s allegations. A spokesman said: “We are an equal opportunity organisation both with regard to our customers and employees.
“All our drivers undergo training both when they join the company and have a refresher course on an annual basis.”
Kieran Harris, director of operations at Cardiff Institute for the Blind (CIB), said he is “generally aware” of the issues blind people face with public transport. He added that CIB has a “very productive and positive relationship” with Cardiff Bus.
