I have a disabled bus pass issued by hertfordshire council,  I live on the border of london and travel mainly on london buses. I've not had an issue until last few months when bus drivers have started  refusing to accept my bus pass as it doesnt read on the ticket machines. Bus passes issued from outside of london have never read on the ticket machines on London buses and you must always show the driver. As long as the bus pass has the red rose symbol and has a valid date then it should be accepted for travel. I experienced horrific abuse from an arriva bus driver sunday 19th july. I showed my pass as usual, he was adamant I need to touch machine, I did so and guess what the ticket machine doesnt recognise my bus pass. The driver was rude to me, wouldnt listen, turned engine off, told passengers I was causing a nuisance even though I have a valid bus pass. This in turn caused passengers starying to get irrate at ne, I got name called and bullied. I suffer from autism, aspergers syndrome, I was very distressed at this stage, shaking and crying, eventually I got off the bus and everybody else got back on as he had terminated the service. I was left behind at bus stop all by myself feeling very humiliated and distraught, even though my bus pass was totally valid. I love london buses and travelling on buses is my passion, this latest incident destroyed my confidence. I'm starting this petition to raise awareness that bus drivers need better training regarding bus passes so that this doesnt happen to anybody else and also highlight the fact that drivers need training in customer service skills.  I wouldnt class myself as severely vulnerable but if somebody worse of than got on bus and experienced the same problem then the consequence could of been much worse