A mother was left stranded after four bus drivers refused to let her board with a double buggy.
Kerry Liversedge used the Kingswells First service to take her two young boys to the Bob the Builder show at Aberdeen’s Music Hall on Thursday.
On the return journey from Aberdeen, however, she says four bus drivers either turned her away or did not stop.
Last night Mrs Liversedge, 38, of Brae Cottage, Leochel-Cushnie, Alford, said she was in tears and “practically begging” when the fourth bus showed up. She said she would never use First’s park and ride service again.
The Kingswells First service was designed to reduce congestion and carbon emissions.
But Mrs Liversedge said: “I’m going to take my car from now on. I tried to be environmentally friendly by taking the bus but if that’s the way passengers with children are going to be treated I’m not interested.”
Mrs Liversedge, who was carrying sons Torin, two, and five-month-old Glenn in a two-seater pram, started waiting for a bus on Union Street at about 4pm.
She said: “The first driver said the bus was too busy and drove on, so I waited for the second one only to be told when it arrived there was already a pram on board and I could not get on as well.
“The third driver did not even stop and by the time the fourth bus came along I was in tears and practically begging to be let on the bus.
““The driver said the only way I could get on was to fold up my pram, which is impossible to do when you are by yourself with two children and a busload of people waiting on Union Street for you, so I gave up.”
The teacher, who is on maternity leave from Aboyne Academy, considered calling her husband Adam, 38, also a teacher, but discovered her phone had been lost or stolen. The couple also have another son, five-year-old Corey, who was at school that day.
Mrs Liversedge began walking towards the city’s west end and stopped in a doctor’s surgery in the Rubislaw area to use its phone.
“A woman who was leaving overheard me on the phone and offered to drive me out to Kingswells, I could not believe how selfless she was,” she added.
“She was pregnant and had to pick up her own child from nursery. She was a good Samaritan, I had no idea how else I was going to get home except walking.”
Duncan Cameron, operations director for First in Aberdeen, said an investigation would be launched to discover why one of the buses failed to stop.
He added: “We would like to offer our sincere apologies to Mrs Liversedge and her children for any distress caused.
“Park and ride services are popular and this would account for the buses being full at the time she tried to board.
“Unfortunately, due to limited space on board, and health and safety reasons, when the buggy/wheelchair space is occupied, additional passengers with prams are asked to fold them if they wish to travel.
“We understand that this can be difficult to manage when travelling with small children, but unfortunately it is the only option.
“We are very sorry to hear that one of the buses failed to stop, and will launch a full investigation into this to ensure that we understand what happened, and are able to prevent a recurrence in future.”