MILWUAKEE — A Milwaukee father is speaking out after he says a bus driver refused to let his son, who uses a wheelchair, board a Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) bus, telling them it would make her late.
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Deshaunte Smith and his son, DJ, were waiting at a bus stop when the incident occurred. DJ had missed his school bus, so they decided to take public transportation.
"It was my first time riding the bus in a very long time," Smith said.
Smith posted a video of the encounter on TikTok, which has gained nearly 15,000 views.
"I just wanted to ask her, you know, 'Hey, we're not going far up the road, do you go to Humboldt?' And she was like, 'Yeah,' and then I was like, 'OK, then we will just ride this bus. I was waiting for 66, but I'll just take this bus.' And she was like, 'Oh, y'all are going to make me late!'" Smith said.
Smith said the driver then shut the door.
Watch: Milwaukee father alleges bus driver discrimination against son who uses wheelchair
"At that point, it was people on the bus, I was like kind of embarrassed a little bit, so I'm like, no, we're good, we'll wait," Smith said. "He realized he was being discriminated against in that instant."
After posting on TikTok, comments poured in from other wheelchair users sharing similar experiences in Milwaukee.
On Monday, MCTS released a statement saying they're aware of the social media post and that the incident is under investigation.
"MCTS is dedicated to providing safe, efficient, reliable, and customer-focused service to all riders, especially our most vulnerable community members," the statement read.
The next bus eventually arrived, and Smith said that the driver was more accommodating.
"And he apologized on her behalf, and he was like, yeah man, they're supposed to let the ramp down for you, and they're also supposed to strap you in," Smith said.
DJ was able to get to school, but as a father, Smith hopes to prevent this type of situation from happening to anyone else.
"If Milwaukee County Transit System is putting those kinds of crunch times on those stops for the bus driver to where she felt like she had to say that to someone who is disabled, I just feel like she felt like she was going to be reprimanded or something if she stopped and let my son on the bus," Smith said.
Smith is now speaking with an attorney, calling this incident a potential violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
He shares this message with the community:
"If you see somebody struggling with a child in a wheelchair or whatever and they're trying to get somewhere, just give them a couple more minutes," Smith said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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