Blind foundation criticises Stagecoach after attack on boy

A partly blind teenager beaten by a stranger after he refused to get off a bus has been left shaken and anxious by the attack, his mother said yesterday.

She and her family intend laying a complaint against the Stagecoach bus company with the Human Rights Commission after a Wellington bus driver disputed whether the 14-year-old boy was vision-impaired.

Stagecoach said yesterday that it would apologise to the boy and his family.

The firm has been blasted by the Royal Foundation of the Blind, which says its many offers to help to train drivers in blindness awareness have been rejected.

Police yesterday interviewed the driver and said he was unlikely to face charges. They are still seeking the stranger, described as a skinny European youth aged 18 or 19.

The boy was attacked by the passenger when he would not get off the bus.

He has no sight in one eye, and only peripheral vision in the other. He does not use a cane or have a guide dog.

The boy - who has not been named - his brother and a woman were catching a bus on Monday night when the driver questioned the validity of the boy's blind person bus pass.

It allows discounted fares and is issued to foundation members.

The foundation said that while physical attacks were rare, it was all too common for bus and taxi drivers to question whether people were vision-impaired and refuse to let them on board.

"They think everybody should wear dark glasses and play a piano like Stevie Wonder, or use a guide dog," community awareness manager Chris Orr said.

Mr Orr said the foundation offered blindness awareness training which had been adopted by many companies, including Auckland train operator Connex, but Stagecoach had refused.

The company had cited costs as one reason it had not wanted the training.