'After years of campaigning we can now get a bus'

Finally being able to travel on the Isle of Man's buses on his mobility scooter will, according to a veteran disability rights campaigner, make "all the difference".

Bus Vannin has not previously been able to allow scooters and wheelchairs on its vehicles due to issues with boarding and manouvrability difficulties at stops around the island.

While the UK implemented a new code in 2011 to allow scooters on buses, the island has not until now been able to follow suit.

Campaigner Eric Corkish, who got the bus on his scooter for the first time earlier this week, described the milestone as a big win after "six years fighting".

After trials in September 2019 and January 2020, a number of concerns about the safe implementation of accessible buses on the Isle of Man meant it was not deemed feasible.

But after repeated calls from politicians and campaigners, and a series of infrastructure upgrades around the island, Bus Vannin routes now have various accessible stops.

It means the company's fleet is available for wheelchairs and Class 2 mobility scooters at stops with compatible kerbsides and where scooter users can safely continue their journeys.

Class 2 scooters have a maximum speed of 4 mph (6 km/h) and cannot be used on a road unless there is no pavement.

Former Infrastructure Minister Michelle Haywood said it was "just the start" and "more improvements" were on the way as upgrades were being made "across the island".

She also thanked "all mobility scooter and wheelchair users for their patience while these works have been under way".

Ramsey resident Eric and other campaigners first called for mobility scooter access to buses in 2019.

After taking his first journey from Ramsey to Douglas, he said: "I'm the happiest I've been for a long time."

Eric, who had his left leg amputated due to a blocked artery in 1994, said he had been using a mobility scooter more and more during the last 10 years.

Since 2019 he has been the predominant voice calling for better access to the Manx bus network, writing letters to politicians and speaking regularly to the local press.

Eric said he believed the need for greater access to buses would only increase because "people are living longer" on the island.

While it had "taken so long", Eric said: "I can now see that we've actually won after all this time."

He said "it opens up a lot more of the Isle of Man" and it would make a "big difference in my life".

"Now I can just get the bus, I can get off at Laxey, or get off in Douglas, or carry on into Castletown - it sort of opens everything up to me now."

He said he was particularly looking forward to spending more time using the facilities at the National Sports Centre.

Eric also said he used to be an avid golfer, and the sport "used to be my life".

He said he now wanted "to find other things to do, and being able to get a bus to do them makes all the difference".

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