A MOTHER is campaigning to change a bus company's fares policy, after it charged her for a ticket for her six-week old baby.

Midland Bluebird bus company made Mrs Rhona Wilson pay a half-fare for Stuart on a one-mile trip, although her older son Roddy, three, and daughter Rhiannon, four, were allowed travel free.

Mrs Wilson of Deanston, near Doune, Perthshire, said yesterday she was astounded when she was told she had to pay extra because she was now taking three young children on the bus.

The 37-year-old history teacher said: ''When I got on the bus with Stuart in a sling the driver said 'you'll have to pay for the baby'. ''I just laughed because I thought he was joking, but he said 'No, really, you will'. He said only two children under five are allowed to travel free with one adult.''

Mrs Wilson said: ''I can't understand the logic. It wasn't as if we were taking up any extra space on the bus. I took up more space in the bus when I was pregnant than I do now sitting with the baby.

''This Government has said it wants to encourage more people to use public transport but if this is how the bus companies treat their passengers then it won't work. This is pure greed and it's penalising rural communities. The Government should step in to stop it.

''I normally pay #1.80 for a return fare between Deanston and Doune but now I have to pay #2.70 for the same journey.''

She said that when she was getting the bus with her other two children she did not have to pay for them, ''so basically we are having to pay for a six-week-old baby''.

The business development manager of Midland Bluebird, Mr Brian Peat, claimed the rules were fair. He said: ''We feel we operate a pretty generous concession in that we allow up to two children under the age of five to travel free.

''In a sense we were showing how generous we were, as before the four-year-old and three-year-old were taking up seats but not paying for them.

''Very few bus companies are as generous as ours. The policy goes back to around 1956. What would happen if you had a whole playgroup going on a bus free of charge? We have to draw the line somewhere.''

Perth-based bus company Stagecoach said their policy was the same as Midland Bluebird.

A spokesman for National Rail Enquiries said all accompanied children under five travelled free on all train services, regardless of how many there were.