A mum from Kirkintilloch has hit out at First Bus after a driver refused to let her son on, despite having a valid Young Scot Card which entitles him to free travel.
Mandy Stewart was shocked when she received a call from her son Kyle, 12, who was making his way home from school. The upset boy told his mum that the driver had refused him entry to the number 89 bus, which was travelling along Baird Street.
The 34-year-old had put her son's card through the washing machine by mistake which meant it didn't scan, however, they had ordered another one and numerous other drivers had allowed Kyle on the bus.
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Mandy told Glasgow Live: "It wasn't reading on the bus, but the photograph of him, the hologram and the valid date were still visible.
"I said that I don't have any money to give him yet so I said just explain to drivers that we've ordered the new one.
"He got on the bus fine for a few days.
"Kyle goes to school near where I work so I usually meet him and his brother after school. They usually get on at one bus stop then I get on at the other.
"He phoned me and said the driver isn't letting me on. I waited for the bus and got on to speak to the bus driver.
"I said that he never let my son on and he said his ticket wasn't valid. I responded and said it was valid because you could see the date, hologram and his picture, it just wasn't reading on the machine.
"All he was trying to do was go back and forward to school. The driver kept saying it was policy, which is funny because he got on no bother coming into school.
"I complained to First Bus and they told me it wasn't policy. They'd expect, especially when it's a child, for drivers to let them on."
The upsetting experience really impacted the schoolboy who adores academia. Kyle didn't travel to school for the next three days because he was worried the same thing could happen again.
Mandy feels like due to her son's young age he was discriminated against by the male driver.
The mum-of-two explained: "I feel like Kyle was bullied that day because maybe if it was someone elderly they wouldn't of had an issue.
"But because he was a child alone they didn't let him on. For the rest of the week he refused to use the ticket and missed three days of school until a new one arrived.
"I felt so sorry for him that day. I keep thinking about what could have happened if I jumped on a bus before him? Afterwards I think he was shocked that a grown man thought it was alright to leave him."
A First Bus spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we’ve reminded all drivers of the correct procedures to follow when assisting all customers that present concession cards for travel.
“We apologise for any inconvenience that the family involved experienced at the time.”
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