A BUS company has apologised to a mother and her baby after she was refused entry onto a bus because she didn’t have the right change.

Uno, the University of Hertfordshire’s student bus service, has said sorry to first-time mum Ilka Evans, who was with her three-week-old son Mark when she was turned away from the 602 service outside Asda in Hatfield on Friday, January 8.

Mrs Evans was returning home having taken Mark to the doctor’s because of a chest infection.

But during the worst cold weather in Britain for 30 years, Mrs Evans was told to leave the bus by the driver because she only had a �10 note to pay the �1.20 fare, and he didn’t have enough change.

Mrs Evans, from Hanover Walk, Hatfield, was preparing to leave the bus when a fellow passenger behind her agreed to pay the fare, allowing Mrs Evans to travel.

“I couldn’t believe what was happening,” said Mrs Evans, 34.

“My baby was only three weeks old and he was crying and cold. But the bus driver was very serious. I felt so humiliated.”

Now Uno’s general manager Michael Finn has apologised profusely for the incident, saying the driver had been identified and a full investigation was under way.

“We offer our sincerest apologies to the Evans family and as a gesture of goodwill offer a free weekly pass to Mrs Evans for travel across our network.

“Our policy is very clear in this regard in that passengers who are clearly able to pay, but do not have the right change, should not be refused travel,” Mr Finn said.