Disabled pensioner unable to visit wife of 60 years as crucial bus to …
A disabled[1] pensioner won’t be able to visit his beloved wife of 63 years after plans to scrap a crucial bus[2] route were announced.
Andy Wilson, 82, relies on the “lifeline” service to see partner Marie at Elderslie Care Home in Paisley, Scotland.
McGill’s Buses’ number 22 bus from Paisley to Erskine, Renfrewshire, is due to be dropped, the firm announced last month.
It takes Andy from outside his front door right up to the care home.
The couple’s daughter Jani Haylock said the decision is a “disgrace” and said the family is “very concerned”.
The bus also allows Andy to go shopping and attend hospital appointments.
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Jani and Clive Haylock visited Jani’s parents Marie and Andy Wilson at Elderslie Care Home (
paisley)
Jani told the Daily Record[4]: “This bus service for my father is an absolute lifeline.
“It makes going into Paisley for shopping and particularly banking, attending hospital appointments and most importantly, visiting my mother in Elderslie care home possible.
“My father, who is 82, is disabled and this bus service takes him from outside his front door to outside the care home – it was one of the deciding factors when we had to make a decision as to what care home would be best for all the family’s needs.
“They have now been married 63 years and are devoted to one another.”
Marie, 85, moved into Elderslie Care Home five years ago.
Multiple bus routes are being cut (stock image) (
DAILY RECORD)
For the family, the home offered excellent care while being within easy reach of the couple’s home in Whitehaugh.
Now to get to the care home on public transport Andy would need to get the bus to Glasgow Road before waiting – potentially in the rain and the dark – for a connecting bus to Elderslie.
Like others his age, he would not be fit enough to walk to Glasgow Road to get a more direct route.
Having undergone two hip replacements, suffered two heart attacks and now undergoing treatment for skin cancer, the gruelling journey, Jani fears, would be too much for her dad.
“The bus link to the hospital is essential for dad’s treatment,” Jani added.
“However, it is not only my father who is affected. In the Greenlaw and Whitehaugh area, there is an aged population who are highly dependent on this service.
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“Whilst McGill’s may argue that they can catch another one of their buses on Glasgow Road, this is not possible for the very young, the elderly or the disabled – the most vulnerable people in society.
“In a day and age where people are being repeatedly reminded to use public transport, I feel it is a disgrace to remove this excellent service as well as others.”
The number 22 bus is one of several Renfrewshire bus services that will either be scrapped or reduced in frequency when the changes to the McGill’s timetable come into effect on Monday.
It comes just weeks after Scottish Government funding to support transport operators recover from the Covid-19 pandemic ended while costs continue to soar.
McGill’s said that, together with the current financial climate, meant cuts were “unavoidable”.
A spokesman said the 21, 23, 26 and 757 routes aimed to address the gaps left by the 22 but accepted the cuts were difficult.
He said: “To retain a good quality service overall for the region we have had to make some very difficult decisions.
“We are committed to continue delivering a quality public transport network but we need to adapt to the very real financial pressures in place.”