Edinburgh OAP, 87, battered and bruised after Lothian bus fall on way to Sunday lunch

Margaret Lindsay, 87, who fell of the Number 11 bus at Mortonhall on Easter Sunday. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Margaret Lindsay, from Polwarth, and her husband Bert used the middle door to get off a Number 11 bus at Mortonhall and fell on the road.

She later had stitches in wounds to her hand and knee.

And she vowed she would not be using Lothian buses’ new super-buses again.

Margaret has vowed never to use Lothian's new super-buses again. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

A fleet of 42 of the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 XLB buses were introduced on the 11 and 16 routes last month, but have already been at the centre of a row over a lack of space for buggies.

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“We were going to Mortonhall for lunch after church. I have severe arthritis so was walking with a stick.

“They say to exit by the middle door so that’s what we were doing. He got off first – he said he jumped down – then he looked round and I was lying on the ground.

“I had tried to step off the bus but it was not next to the pavement and I fell.

“A young chap came off the bus and he was trying to pick me up and then the bus driver came and between the two of them they got me up.

“My hand was bleeding and my knee was bleeding.

“It’s quite a drop to the pavement but this was even worse because it was down to the road – he hadn’t pulled right into the pavement.”

Mrs Lindsay said they went into a cafe. “The lady there bound me up and suggested we should go to A&E, so we got a taxi there and they put stitches in my hand and knee. And I’m all bruised down my left side.

“A lot of people are complaining about these buses. That was the first time I’d been on them. I certainly won’t be using them again.”

Former city transport convener Lesley Hinds said her 92-year-old aunt was a regular bus traveller but avoided the new buses because the step was higher. “She told me she didn’t like going on the new buses because they have really high steps. Now she avoids them and tries to get one of the other buses where the steps are lower. If you’re able-bodied you probably don’t think about it, but an inch or two can make all the difference.”

Managing director Richard Hall said: “The vehicles feature a ‘full squat’ function which removes air from the suspension units to allow the vehicle to kneel and sit evenly across the road surface when boarding and alighting customers. This ensures that both entry and exit doors lower to a reduced height to allow customers to board and disembark. This gives an improved entrance and exit step height better than the legal maximum requirement of 250mm.”