I was a passenger on the bus into which another crashed on May 13.

There were 15 to 20 passengers on the bus. As I recall, it was in fact pulling away from the departure gate when the other vehicle struck. This was what saved me and a fellow passenger from possible serious injury or worse. Instead of crashing into the side of the bus, where we were sitting, it instead, quite fortuitously, entered through the doors behind our seat.

It was then that the poor woman mentioned in the article was thrown to the ground.

In the first instance, I of course wish her well.

She was laid down in the bus in agony and somebody placed her handbag under her head. The safety glass did its job and shattered in such a way that no injury was caused by it.

I noticed, soon after, that a number of Arriva staff gathered around the bus and boarded through the driver’s door. At first nobody seemed to notice the injured woman and somebody shouted for an ambulance to be called, which indeed it was. It must have been over 10 minutes before it arrived, however.

I did not get the impression, though I stand to be corrected, that the staff was as concerned about the passengers as they were about the driver and the bus. There was no obvious attempt to approach customers, all in various states of shock, to check they were alright. In fact, about half were to the rear of the bus, behind the crash site. Naturally, there was no way past the person lying on the floor in agony.

Eventually we all got tired of waiting, being rather desperate to get off the bus. So it fell to me to do Arriva’s job for them and release the doors using the emergency button. Again, I was not aware of any direct approach by Arriva staff as people got off. Not even a word to ask if we were alright, perhaps somebody to direct us to another bus. In short, nothing!

As for the accident itself, I should be most interested to know how it was allowed to happen. Was there a driver at the wheel or was the rogue vehicle unmanned? Do Arriva have any kind of emergency procedure for staff to follow? Is there anybody to act as customer care when something goes wrong? What assurances can Arriva give that safety procedures will be stepped up without delay and that staff will be drilled in their responsibilities relating to such occurrences?

There have been a number of collisions reported in recent months. If the bus station itself is a place of danger what hope is there for passengers?

People are calling for Arriva to go everywhere. I trust the Transport Minister has this matter at the top of his agenda. No wonder people, perhaps somewhat jokingly, crave the return of the old buses!

If this incident is not a wake-up call for Arriva and the Government, I don’t know what it might take to get those responsible to sit up and take notice!