Mum of autistic West Lothian teen fears he'll 'lose independence' as local bus axed

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A teenager in West Lothian will ‘lose his independence’ when McGill’s axe a crucial bus service, his mum has said.Bus operator McGill’s announced they will be scrapping their services in West Lothian and fears across the community are spreading as locals who rely on the buses are feeling ‘stranded’.Julie Nelson, 39, said her 16-year-old son TJ, who has autism, has become ‘distressed’ and she worries that he will lose his independence.Julie explained: “My son is 16 and autistic.

We live in Polbeth, and he visits his girlfriend in Livingston most days. He has waited at the bus station for up to two hours on occasion, with no buses despite them being scheduled.

This leaves him distressed and deflated.“We’ve worked really hard to increase his confidence in himself and his self-sufficiency skills, and the service being cancelled entirely means he will no longer be able to enjoy that independence at all, as he’ll need to rely on lifts and other people’s schedules being free to collect him.“This will affect his opportunities to safely learn and practice independence, and reduces his opportunities for social contact which is challenging for him as he is autistic.”The bus service in rural areas of West Lothian came under fire after McGill’s took over the service in late 2022.Residents previously told how the poor services left many feeling isolated and stressed.

Julie added that the 26 service is often cancelled at short notice.Earlier this year, McGill’s explained that due to a bus driver shortage hitting a number of bus operators around Scotland and a lack of customers, services would be cancelled at short notice - including the evening and early morning buses.Julie said: “Buses not showing up when scheduled or entire services