Sir, - I boarded a bus in D'Olier Street, Dublin. As I got on I heard a woman calling the driver's attention from the rear of the bus. She was asking him if he could open the centre doors so she could escort a blind girl, possibly her daughter, off the bus.
This seemed a valid request as some passengers were standing while others were waiting to board at the front door. The driver appeared at first not to hear. The woman persisted with her demand, emphasising the girl's disability. Both were standing adjacent to the centre doors.
The driver eventually responded by insisting that they disembark by the front door and the pair eventually had to exit via the front, though not without vociferous protest. The bus pulled away, leaving the woman roaring and gesturing in its wake.
What a pathetic scene.
The driver could easily have defused the situation by pressing a button on his console. In not doing so, he merely fuelled the tension felt by the woman and fellow passengers. Why he insisted on not opening the centre doors can only be guessed at. Was it that he felt it was not expressly essential, or was he acting according to some hardline Dublin Bus dictate?
Why is it that the simplest of daily interactions can cause such turbulence? Why is it the defenceless in our society are just that as we approach the third millennium? - Yours, etc.,
Alan Harrison, Brighton Avenue, Rathgar, Dublin 6.