A PORT Glasgow woman claims bus firm McGill’s are ‘discriminating’ against her — after banning her mobility scooter from their services.

Stacey Riley, 42, of Campsie Road, suffers from arthritis in her hip and can’t walk very far, prompting her husband, Jan, 48, to buy her a scooter to help her get around.

But, when Stacey emailed McGill’s to see if it was okay for her to take it on their buses, she received a reply refusing permission — because their buses ‘do not have the proper facilities’ for her vehicle.

She said: “That really got my back up because I’ve seen electric and normal wheelchairs on the buses that are bigger than my scooter.

“I think I’m being discriminated against.”

Stacey said she can’t go out now unless her husband or someone else gives her a lift in their car.

She had to give up her job as a secretary in Glasgow two years ago because of mobility issues and problems.

A friend gives her a lift to and from West College Scotland in Greenock, where she is studying administration in the hope of getting another job, but, if she has to get a taxi there, it costs her £25 return instead of £2.15 on the bus.

She said: “I’m an independent person and I want to get the bus to go places.

“I lost confidence when I had to give up my job, and now I’m trying to get it back. I thought the scooter would be ideal to allow me to going shopping in Port Glasgow or Greenock, but now I can’t use it and I find that quite depressing.

“I don’t want to have to rely on anyone to give me a lift and I don’t see why I should have to stay indoors because I can’t get my scooter on a bus.”

A spokeswoman for McGill’s confirmed that the scooter would not be allowed on their fleet.

She said: “There are a number of reasons, predominantly for the safety of all customers, including the user of the mobility scooter, that prevent us from carrying mobility scooters across our fleet.

“There is no common design standard on mobility scooters and many, because of their size and turning circle, do not fit, or cannot be easily manoeuvred into the wheelchair bay.

“With a higher centre of gravity than a wheelchair, a mobility scooter is also more likely to topple than a wheelchair.”

She added: “All of McGill’s local service buses are fully Disability Discrimination Act compliant.

“We endeavour to make bus travel accessible to everyone, and carry passengers using manual and powered wheelchairs across our services every day without any issue.”