{"id":95748,"date":"2025-05-12T16:17:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/95748\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T16:17:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T16:17:12","slug":"they-think-im-a-piece-of-dog-muck-and-they-can-walk-all-over-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/95748\/","title":{"rendered":"‘They think I\u2019m a piece of dog muck and they can walk all over me’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark has been fighting to get a bus pass for months – but TfGM says it will continue to advise him(Image: Copyright Unknown)<\/p>\n

An epileptic man says he’s been denied a bus pass because he was told he had a driving licence \u2014 but he legally cannot drive.<\/p>\n

Mark Allen, 60, applied for a disabled person\u2019s travel pass in January because his epilepsy can cause him to lose consciousness for a few moments multiple times a day.<\/p>\n

That means it could be dangerous for the Bolton<\/a> man to get behind the wheel of a car, so much so Mark says the DVLA \u2018said there was no way I could get [a driving licence] even if I applied for one\u2019.<\/p>\n

Mark therefore uses public transport to get around, and applied for a disabled person\u2019s travel pass which grants users free bus and train journeys after 9:30am midweek, and all day at weekends.<\/p>\n

But he saw his application knocked back by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), and Mark says it\u2019s because \u2018TfGM said I\u2019ve got a driving licence, but I\u2019ve never had one\u2019.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cMy doctor says this person cannot drive due to my medical condition, and so did the DVLA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke to the DVLA on the phone and they said there was no way I could get one even if I applied for one. I never ticked the box to say I have a driving license, but [TfGM] say I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark, who lives in Tonge Moor, now feels like \u2018a prisoner\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can walk to my mum\u2019s, but otherwise I cannot get around,\u201d he went on. \u201cIt\u2019s making me feel like a prisoner in my own area.<\/p>\n

He also called on TfGM to \u2018refund me the cost of everything\u2019 in obtaining documents and travelling to see doctors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey think I\u2019m a piece of dog muck and they can walk all over me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For its part, TfGM says it follows nationally-set criteria for travel pass eligibility, and its website says those with epilepsy must \u2018complete the application form and the relevant disability section providing supporting evidence such as diagnosis letters, specialist treatment, prescriptions or letters of support from health care professionals\u2019 to secure a pass.<\/p>\n

Fran Wilkinson, TfGM\u2019s director for customer and growth, added: \u201cPart of our commitment to a fully accessible Bee Network includes supporting people with disabilities and health conditions to acquire the concessionary passes they are entitled to.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhilst the initial information Mr Allen submitted indicated he wouldn\u2019t be eligible for a disabled person\u2019s travel pass, we\u2019ve advised him on the process of providing additional information and evidence to help us consider the matter further.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also reaching out to him directly to further discuss his application, address any misunderstanding and hopefully arrive at a resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark has been fighting to get a bus pass for months – but TfGM says it will continue…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[15333,279,748,393,4884,2465,285,8825,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-95748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-bee-network","9":"tag-bolton","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-manchester","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-transport-for-greater-manchester","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114495766140386627","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}