A MUM in a wheelchair said she was left “humiliated” after a bus driver failed to lower the disabled ramp for her.

Ali Wilkin became a wheelchair user a couple of months ago after her health deteriorated.

She said she was left feeling belittled as drivers at Arriva failed to lower the disabled ramp.

Ms Wilkin, of New Town, Colchester, has used an Arriva bus six times in the past two months but in that time the ramp was lowered for her only once.

The mum, who is 47, said she has had to request for the ramp to be lowered multiple times.

She said: “We are basically an inconvenience and I’m not having it.

“In a manual wheelchair which my son pushes, getting around Colchester actually hurts.

“It’s a ridiculous situation all- round but this particular thing was so humiliating, I don’t see how anyone should be treated like that.”

Ms Wilkin said she tried to get the number 8, which runs from Monkwick to Highwoods on Thursday.

She caught the bus in Mersea Road at the Pownell Crescent stop.

She said: “The bus driver literally ignored me when I requested the ramp be put down. He did not even turn to acknowledge my presence.

“My son then got me on to the bus, causing me physical pain because of the lack of the ramp.

“When we reached our stop at the drop-in clinic on Turner Road, I requested again for the ramp to be put down. I was told twice by the driver that I did not require it.”

She said it was not necessarily the fault of the drivers, as she felt they should receive proper training.

She said: “You shouldn’t have to ask - it’s not a failure of the individual bus drivers, it’s a failure of company management.

“It’s upsetting for my son as well as he knows how much pain it’s putting me through.”

She has officially complained to Arriva, and has contacted Colchester MP Will Quince and councillors.

Jackie Whyte, another wheelchair user in Colchester, said she had experienced the same thing. She said: “As I live in Monkwick and my son’s school is on Mersea Road, the number 8 bus service is the only one I can use, as I can’t self-propel far enough to get to Mersea Road to catch a First Bus.

“I frequently face the same issues - drivers ignoring you, refusing to pull the bus ramp down. I have also had a more serious issue on one of their buses, where a driver was so verbally aggressive to me that I ended up in tears and shaking. This incident was severe enough that I complained to Arriva.”

Councillor Lee Scordis (Lab) said action needed to be taken. He said: “I have had similar complaints about this and it is not good enough, I think Essex County Council needs to evaluate who they are giving these contracts to.

“The bus companies are there to serve everyone. They should be treating everyone with the same respect.”

A BUS company is investigating complaints made by wheelchair users who claim they have been treated unfairly.

Arriva received complaints from residents in Colchester who said bus drivers refused to lower the disabled ramp for them.

Resident Ali Wilkin, whose son has to push her in her wheelchair, said she felt drivers at the bus company needed better training so they could accommodate for disabled customers.

Glen Shuttleworth, area managing director at Arriva, said: “We are very concerned to hear of the difficulties experienced by one of our passengers.

“We take all complaints very seriously, investigate them fully and appropriate action is taken where it is found necessary.”

He said the staff do receive appropriate training on how to help wheelchairs onto the buses and the company will be speaking to unhappy customers individually.

He said: “We expect our drivers to maintain the highest professional standards at all times.

“All of our staff undergo rigorous training procedures, including how best to give assistance to customers who might find it difficult getting on and off of our services.

“We are investigating this complaint and will be speaking to the customer to hear their concerns as part of that process.”