Beth Gate and one of her injuries – bruising around her shoulder

A WOMAN who was injured on a bus said she now feels “anxious” to get back on public transport after she suffered severe bruising and a broken ankle.

Beth Gate, who lives in Camden, was on her usual commute to work on the 253 bus earlier this summer.

As she was preparing to get off the bus at her stop in Camden Road, the driver had to brake suddenly after what she said was an altercation with a cyclist.

She said: “The next thing, the driver slammed on the brakes really hard, and it took us all really by surprise, I flew into the pole. I had both hands trying to keep myself upright, my front right shoulder took the impact of the pole and my foot twisted underneath me which was really painful I yelled out quite loudly and began crying with the pain.”

She added: “The driver noticed that, opened the cab door and came out shouting at me, ‘it’s not my fault’, I had tears running down my face.”

Ms Gate later found out after going to the Whittington Hospital that she had suffered severe bruising and a fractured ankle.

As a carer in a nursing home at the time of her accident Ms Gate was unable to attend work, or care for her mother who also relies on her assistance.

Six weeks on she said she is still suffering knock-on effects from the accident, with swelling in her back, anxiety and the inability to sleep.

She said: “I don’t know what to do. I just feel really upset that it seems like it didn’t matter. You know the slogan ‘every journey counts’, well mine didn’t. When people get hurt on public transport and it’s not their fault I just feel they need to recognise that and at least send a letter of their apologies and reassurance that the drivers are being re-trained or having some kind of inspector ride with them a couple of journeys to make sure.

“Just recognition. It’s not fair. When I get on a bus I always used to stand, now if there’s no seat I won’t get on the bus. It’s just left me feeling really anxious about something I’ve done everyday. I haven’t been able to sleep.”

Ms Gate is asking for some compensation from the bus operator in response to the injuries she suffered.

She said: “I’m not asking for millions of pounds, just some sort of compensation for the week’s payment I lost from work. I don’t make that much money as it is and I just feel they have been too quick to write this off as something that just happens on their transport.”

Rosie Trew, Transport for London’s Head of Bus Service Delivery, said: “This incident must have been very distressing for Ms Gate and we’d like to offer her our sincere apologies. We wish her a full and speedy recovery from her injuries.”

She added: “We expect the highest standards of all of our bus drivers and we’re speaking to the operator to investigate what happened here. Any claims for financial compensation for incidents on buses are handled by individual bus operators and their claims handlers.

“We have further support available for anyone affected by serious incidents on our network through the Sarah Hope Line.”

That’s 0343 222 5678 or can be contacted by email SHL@tfl.gov.uk