A wheelchair bound mum has blasted Stagecoach for making her feel "discriminated against" after she says she was forced to get off the bus in the rain with her autistic son.
Martine Hartley, 42, claimed they tried to board the 86 bus in Toxteth, Liverpool, but after her 17-year-old son's card "wouldn't scan" the driver refused to let her pay another way and demanded they leave the bus.
She said she was "disgusted" by the incident and has not yet received a response after complaining to the company.
Stagecoach has denied Martine's claims and said the passenger did not "have a valid ticket" or "the means to pay for a ticket".
The 42-year-old told the Echo : "I was out with my 17 year old son and my niece. We tried to board an 86 Stagecoach bus towards town opposite the Women's Hospital.
"My son wheeled me into the disabled spot and went back to the driver to pay. He went to pay but his card was declined.
"Rather than let me get my card out to pay instead, the bus driver demanded that we all get off the bus immediately.
"I can't walk and am in a wheelchair. My son has autism so I'm his carer. To be treated like this is disgusting."
She added that her son was left distraught and she had never experienced anything like it.
Martine continued: "The driver watched my son wheel me off the bus and into the pouring rain. She just watched us get off the bus that we should have been allowed on.
"The driver could have just waited a moment for me to get my card our but instead we were just kicked off."
The Stagecoach website states that "vulnerable people at risk or in distress" who are unable to pay should be carried at all times and that it is the customer should "present another card or another form of payment" in the event that their card is declined.
Its regulations add: "Children aged under 16 and those people who, in the opinion of the driver, are vulnerable, at risk or in distress, and unable to pay their fare will be carried at all times providing their name and address can be given in order that the fare due may be collected at a later date together with any reasonable administrative costs."
Having failed to receive a response, Martine said she felt like Stagecoach was not taking the issue seriously, but a spokesperson for the company said it denies any wrongdoing after investigating the incident.
They said: "We have carried out a full investigation into this alleged incident, including reviewing the CCTV and speaking to the supervisor involved and our investigation does not support some of the claims that have been made.
"The CCTV shows that one of the passengers trying to travel on the bus does not have either a valid ticket or appears to have the means to pay for a ticket for his journey.
"The passenger then informed the driver that he had decided to leave the vehicle.
"We're sorry to hear that the passengers are unhappy with their experience with us and we would be more than happy to discuss their concerns and in more detail with them."
