A few weeks ago my freedom pass stopped working so I ordered a replacement. The bus drivers were all kind and allowed me to travel despite it not scanning (the pass has a picture of me and the date of expiry on it).
Unfortunately when I ordered the replacement the payment was taken but - unknown to me - the order not put through. I waited the ten working days that it could take but it never arrived.
My wife had a hospital appointment so we hopped on the bus to get there and I asked the driver if I could get on though my pass had stopped working.
It turned out I the same driver had allowed me onboard with my broken pass two weeks ago.
I have a freedom pass because I suffer with mental illness so need the support where I am unable to afford things like travel due to not being fit for work.
You'd have thought a bus driver would understand the vulnerability of someone needing a freedom pass but this one obviously didn't.
He accused me of not ordering a new pass and then told me to surrender the faulty one so that I'd have the motivation to order a replacement.
He then went on to tell me I'd be breaking the law if I refused to hand the faulty pass over.
I became very distressed at this point and didn't know what to do. I ended up getting off the bus but was in such a state that the voices in my head were yelling at me to hurt myself.
I didn't do so but ended up breaking down in the high street in an effort to try and contain myself.
Of course the driver wasn't aware of the administrative error that delayed my new pass getting to me; but to treat someone who is clearly vulnerable (a young person with a freedom pass is bound to be) like that is plain ignorant in my book.
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