Report: Disabled GUNS N' ROSES Fan Gets A Ride

Greg Guy of TheChronicleHerald.ca reports:

Mary MacDonald's dream of seeing GUNS N' ROSES was to be fulfilled on Monday night (Nov. 20).

"I got a drive to and from the concert," the happy Halifax woman said Monday. "Kevin, the owner of Need-A-Lift, offered to take me there and pick me up."

MacDonald, who is confined to a wheelchair, thought her hopes were dashed when she found out the band didn't go onstage until after 11 p.m., meaning the concert would get out between 1 and 2 a.m. and her original transportation, Access-A-Bus, would have ended its run.

When MacDonald called Need-A-Lift on Sunday to book a ride, she was told they ended their service at midnight.

After a story appeared in The Chronicle Herald on Monday, several people offered to take MacDonald to and from the concert, using their own cars. But MacDonald, who gets around in an electronic wheelchair, said she has to ride in a van with a ramp.

She said she also had a call from Ralph Williams, manager of operations at Trade Centre Ltd., who offered to get her to and from the arena, but she explained she needed a special van.

By 5 p.m. Monday, MacDonald had all but given up hope of seeing her favourite band. She said the Metro Centre offered to refund her ticket, which she was happy about. But she got the news around 5:30 p.m. that Need-A-Lift was coming to pick her up.

The GUNS N' ROSES online message board was also filled with MacDonald's transportation dilemma, one suggesting that the band's management should offer to get her to and from the concert.

One e-mail sent to The Chronicle Herald's entertainment department, believed to be from the band's management said: "GUNS have personally suggested she be transported to and from the concert. . . . GUNS want to give people a real rock n' roll '70's night out. Back then people never slept. Late nights and a good time were always on the menu. At the same time, though, they are sensitive to people's requirements."