Edinburgh Sucks! | OAPs and disabled must take 2 buses to Councillor’s surgery

Lothian Buses

OAPs and disabled must take 2 buses to Councillor’s surgery

By The Basa ⋅ November 25, 2006 ⋅

Councillor for Milton, Maureen ‘three houses’ Child who is also in charge of finance in the council’s cabal-like cabinet has mightily thrown her two fingers up the the OAPs, disabled and mothers with prams or buggies.

In a recent newsletter to constituents she told them that two bus services were being cut back but nobody used them anyway.

That’s all very nice for Childs, her constituents think it should have read “two bus services have been cut but I don’t use them anyway”.

Childs recently refused to turn up to her surgeries at Brunstane School and forced her constituents to go into the neighbouring ward of Portobello to see her, which is very convenient because she just lives a 3 minute walk from the Portobello Town Hall where she is known as the unelected councillor for Portobello.

One of the bus services that childs didn’t use was the number 12 which went along Milton Road East on the way down to and from Portobello. Lothian buses told residents groups in Magdalene, Portobello and Portobello traders representatives that people from Magdalene, Milton Road and the Christians could take one bus to Asda and then change to another. This means, that the elderly, disabled and mothers with prams and buggies could spend over a hour on the journey which would normally take less than 10 minutes.

It also means that they would also require two buses into a neighbouring ward to see their councillor - nice one Maureen - that’s the way to look after your constituents, isn’t it.

A huge amount of the people who live in Magdalene and the Christians and depended on the bus to get to the local shops in Portobello (Findlay’s the butcher being a favourite), the Library in Portobello, the launderette in Portobello, even to see their councillor to complain about the lack of bus services to Portobello, mothers with babies and toddlers who attend clubs with their children. Many of the elderly, infirm and disabled are residents who have lived in both communities for up to 50 years are now being thrown aside by the council, the council-owned Lothian Buses and their local councillor Three Houses Child because they want to save pennies by stopping the number 12 going the 400 yards along Milton Road East.

If there was every a reason not to vote the current councillors back into power this must be it.

So now there is a 91 year-old lady in Magdalene who can’t go to see her wee brother (who is 81 and housebound) without taking two buses, a 74 year-old lady in the Christians who doesn’t have a washing machine and can’t take her clothes to the launderette and at least two pensioners who have fallen in Magdalene Drive and on Portobello High Street rushing to catch buses, and have ended up at RIE Accident and Emergency because they know they have to change buses mid-journey and didn’t want to miss their first 30 minute service bus.

Vote the bastards out in May.