Bus drivers humiliated me, says disabled man

This article is published in today's Leiceter Mercury:

Bus drivers humilated me, says disabled man

​A disabled man says he has been “humiliated and degraded” by bus drivers who refused to lower the wheelchair ramp to their vehicles.

Mark Richardson, 48, and his partner Donna Hutchison, 43, said they had been involved in six incidents of discrimination on Arriva buses since Christmas.

The couple, from Shelthorpe Road, Loughborough, said that last week one driver refused to lower the disabled ramp on the bus and insisted Donna lifted 20-stone Mark on to the bus.

They said when she refused, the driver insisted every passenger got off the bus, before driving away.

Mark has been using a wheelchair since doctors discovered a tumour in his stomach last February.

The tumour burst and Mark spent months in intensive care, where he developed myopathy, a condition in which the muscle nerve endings do not function, leaving him with barely any feeling in his legs.

He said: “After all I’ve been through, this is not what I need.

“It was so undermining and humiliating for me.

“There is no way they would have treated me like that before I was disabled.

“I’m determined not to be forced to stay indoors. Why should I?

“I was in hospital for so long, I’ll be damned if I’m staying in the house because of the arrogance of some driver.”

The couple use the bus to get to hospital appointments in Loughborough and for other trips.

Donna said that last month a driver did not know how to use the ramp and insisted she carry Mark on to the bus.

She said her request to use the ramp to get off the bus was declined and she twisted the frame of Mark’s chair while trying to get him out.

She said: “We had to call the hospital out to repair the chair.

“It was so humiliating when the driver refused to lower the ramp and chucked everyone off.

“He told me he would lift Mark on but I said no. What if he had been tipped out of his chair?

“I told him I was not getting off the bus until he lowered the ramp so he turned round and shouted to the other passengers ‘right we’re not going anywhere, everyone off’.

“The worst bit was nobody said anything. They just stared at us as they walked past. It was heartbreaking. 

“I cried my eyes out when we got home.

“What’s the point of having a ramp if they don’t use it?”

The couple have made two complaints to Arriva and said they had to wait 10 to 14 days for a response.

A spokesman for Arriva said it was aware of complaints and would be carrying out an investigation.

He said: “We will be carrying out an interview with the driver or drivers concerned and I am sure we can come to a solution.”