A blind passenger was left stranded and ‘petrified’ after a staff gaffe left him not knowing where he was.
Stephen Anderson, 23, was hoping to make it home from central London to Rayners Lane on Saturday, April 5, but his journey took a turn for the worse when a Transport for London (TfL) employee failed to turn up to act as a chaperone at Harrow Bus Station in College Road, Harrow, where he needed assistance to help him change from one bus to another.
This left Mr Anderson, who is a politics student at the University of Leicester, alone and not knowing where he was for half an hour.
He said: “In the end I was very kindly helped by a member of the public, but when you are someone who is registered blind and you do not know where you are, it is petrifying.
“They have given me a bit of a grovelling apology, but they are very good at saying ‘very sorry that this happened, it won't happen again’ but then it does.
“Whilst it is good to know that members of the public can help on occasions like this, this clearly isn’t acceptable.
“Mistakes like this do make it much harder for visually impaired people like me to have confidence in going out, particularly when independent living is something that I have always struggled with.
“To say I am disappointed is a massive understatement.”
Commuters travelling on a TfL service who requires help can either ask for it by alerting a member of staff or calling a customer services line that will then alert staff on the scene.
Mr Anderson did both on this occasion but still no help arrived.
TfL has sent Mr Anderson a letter saying that they will be looking into the incident and enclosed a £10 travel voucher by way on an apology.
Mr Anderson already get free travel through his disabled person’s bus pass but is able to cash in the voucher if he wishes.
He said: “I feel that London Underground are getting complacent. It is not about staffing levels or the reform that is going on at the moment, it seems to be a fundamental problem with how they communicate.”
Gareth Powell, London Underground’s strategy and service development director said: “I am really sorry for the experience Mr Anderson had.
"We will review our arrangements to ensure we learn lessons.
"Underground staff will always approach visually impaired passengers to assist and offer them the help they need to get on and off the trains, and onto the streets when required.
“I understand in this case Mr Anderson waited for assistance at the Harrow-on-the-Hill bus stop when he got off a replacement bus. Our bus replacement staff are trained to approach and offer assistance to disabled passengers.”
