Minister calls for change in attitude as wheelchair user takes on bus companies Ray Bellisario. Photograph: Ray Bellisario The minister for disabled people, Maria Miller, has called for a change in attitude and behaviour towards wheelchair users and other disabled people as one man said he was taking legal action against bus companies in London after being refused permission to board on 28 occasions. Transport for London (TfL), the body responsible for transport in the capital, was on Wednesday evening unable to say whether the type of mobility scooter used by Bellisario was allowed on buses, but had ordered companies to investigate his claims "as a matter of urgency." Some types of scooter are barred due to their "limited manouvrability" but TFL declined to say from pictures whether Bellisario's vehicle fell into this category. Miller said she had intervened in a similar dispute in her own constituency and that for many disabled people, "the ability to travel on public transport meant independence and freedom to take control of their own lives." Bellisario said he was taking four companies to court seeking compensation of £40m, alleging breaches under the Equality Act 2010 and "numerous other laws." He regarded such sums "as a very nominal figure" in the context of the companies' income globally. He said drivers had repeatedly refused to allow him to get on their buses and, on an occasion he had been allowed on, he was subjected to abuse by other passengers. Miller, the MP for Basingstoke, said in a letter to the Guardian: "While we already have regulations in place to ensure that bus drivers give disabled people - including wheelchair users - assistance to get on and off buses, there is clearly more to do. I recently met with Stagecoach to discuss this exact issue after one of my constituents had suffered similar experiences to Mr Bellisario and was refused entry to buses around 18 times. Stagecoach addressed the issue with individual drivers, Miller said. But such episodes were "not just about the infrastructure - the article references ramps which don't work - but also changing attitudes towards disabled people." The government was developing measures to enable disabled people "to participate fully in daily life." Andrew Dyer, the managing director of Stagecoach Southern, said two members of staff had been disciplined as a result of the complaints in Basingstoke. These issues have been dealt with. We have taken the opportunity to upgrade our training programmes and to involve local wheelchair users in this. ,Leon Daniels, TfL's managing director of surface transport, said: "We have been contacted by Mr Bellisario on a number of previous occasions and have been working to investigate the circumstances of the incidents he describes." He hoped a new "mobility aid card" for people who used wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other mobility aids and revised guidance, including pictures of such equipment, being issued to all 24,000 bus drivers in London would remove confusion over what could be carried. Unfortunately, we are unable to safely carry some types of motorised scooters due to their limited manoeuvrability while on board the bus. A spokesperson for the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "The situation described by Mr Bellisario is clearly unacceptable. Every London bus is equipped to carry wheelchairs and all drivers are trained extensively in how to help passengers in wheelchairs. Neil Coyle, the director of policy at Disability Rights UK, said: "Even in London, where buses are generally more accessible, it tends to come down to whether the equipment is working properly, is the driver properly trained and is the bus near enough the curb so the ramp can come down?" Other passengers might not be aware of the priority which should be given to wheelchair users. "Some people are incredibly rude about moving luggage when they are supposed to ... We have had complaints about passengers verbally abusing [wheelchair users] when they are asked to move," said Coyle. Drivers who normally took action to assist disabled people might not step in if they faced "a barrage of abuse trying to get things done."