Name: Milwaukee wheelchair user questions local bus companys accessibility
Uploaded: 2025-11-15T03:56:59.507Z
Duration: 3 min 9 s
Description: A 22-year-old Milwaukee woman says she faced discrimination from a bus driver who was unwilling to accommodate her wheelchair during a recent trip to Madison.

A 22-year-old Milwaukee woman says she faced discrimination from a bus driver who was unwilling to accommodate her wheelchair during a recent trip to Madison.

Milwaukee

Ebony Lewis, a 22-year-old Milwaukee resident with arthrogryposis, has reported ongoing difficulties with accessibility on Badger Bus, a company that advertises wheelchair-accessible services. Despite indicating her needs when booking, Lewis has encountered untrained staff and inadequate accommodations, including an incident where she was stranded overnight.

Badger Bus has issued a statement apologizing for any distress caused and said it is reviewing the details of Lewis's experience. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires transportation providers to ensure accessibility, and Lewis hopes her story will raise awareness and improve conditions for others with disabilities.

Milwaukee wheelchair user questions local bus company's accessibility

This world is not built for people like me. It feels like people in the world should adapt to me where it's more. I'm adapting to the world. That's 22 year old Ebony Lewis. She's completely independent, independent rather, despite being permanently in a wheelchair. Part of that independence involves traveling. She does it a lot, specially back and forth to Madison, and she emailed us after her last trip to the state capital where she says she met with an angry Badger driver who was unwilling to accommodate her needs. Jenna Ray has the story. Yeah, I'm in a wheelchair, but I'm just like everyone else. I'm still a human. Ebony Lewis has arthrogryposis, a muscle disorder where her joints are locked in a fixed position with clubbed feet and hands. I do everything with my feet, literally everything, cooking, writing. I am very independent for the most part. I mean, I live on my own, you know, but you know I need help several times a year. Ebony goes to visit her best friend in Madison. Almost always she takes the Badger bus, a coach bus that travels across the state, which advertises as wheelchair accessible every time it's been an issue, and it's always, you know, someone rude and they're just not trained. She recorded her latest interaction with a driver when she took the bus Halloween weekend. Ebony, yep, it has got nothing on here but a wheelchair. Not a thing. I clicked it. OK, well, this is a good place to go. I clicked it. OK, well, there's a ramp on everyone and that doesn't mean it's it's good because now we're pretty much full on some buses. We had no idea your car and I believe you're supposed to let somebody know you're coming click on when you sign up for a ticket aren't supposed to click your wheelchair. I do that every time you guys are just not trained for this and you need to because this is ridiculous. You need to be trained for when you have a disabled person. Ebony says this is not the first time she's requested a wheelchair lift on Badger Buses website. And had issues. There was one time where they couldn't figure it out and I was stranded in Madison for overnight because that was the last bus for the night. The Americans with Disabilities Act states private entities that provide transportation services to the public are required by law to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. It even goes further to say motor coach buses that operate a fixed route service must provide accessible vehicles. We called Badger Bus Friday for an interview in a statement. The company said in part we are actively reviewing the details of Miss Lewis's experience and said we apologize for any difficulties or distress this situation or previous situations may have caused her. So tell me why Ebony was important for you to reach out to us. Because it's it was it was more than not OK and I have experienced so much and if I can just make someone's life easier or they don't have to go through the same experience I have, I will do that for them. It just it needs to be. There needs to be awareness about it in Milwaukee. Jenna Ray TMJ 4 News.

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