Brian George (right) is angry a Go Bus Hamilton driver took his son Gareth's cellphone and wrongly accused him of stealing. For Gareth, who has an intellectual disability and ADHD, the phone is a lifeline.

An intellectually-disabled bus passenger is now scared to ride after a driver forcefully claimed his cellphone and wrongly accused him of stealing.

Riding the bus gives Gareth George much needed independence and his cellphone is a lifeline.

This was turned upside-down on Friday when a Hamilton Go Bus driver accused Gareth of stealing, took his phone and held it for a number of days.

STUFF Gareth was transferring onto a Te Rapa bus at Hamilton's Transport Centre when a driver intercepted him and seized his cellphone.

His father, Brian George, is furious his son was allegedly detained and denied an opportunity to speak to him.

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"At the end of the day, they've taken away his rights - they've basically abused him."

Brian said Go Bus has since offered a tour of the bus depot, but that's a "cop out". He wants the driver off the job.

Gareth, 26, was heading home and transferring onto the Te Rapa bus at the Transport Centre at 8.30pm when the driver approached.

"The lady said to me, 'no, my phone's got stolen on the bus', and, 'F... you, I'm going to the police'," Gareth said.

She allegedly accosted him, opened his bag and claimed his cellphone.

Another driver is said to have closed the bus door to keep him on board.

At the same time, Gareth's mother Rowena called to check in. The driver initially let her speak to Gareth, but on a second call was aggressive and refused to hand the phone over.

A distressed Gareth then took the Te Rapa bus, without his phone, as an unknowing Brian drove to the Transport Centre.

"When I got him off the bus, he was so distraught. During the night he kept waking up, saying, 'my phone, my phone'."

A weekend of to-and-fro between Go Bus and police followed.

The manager at Go Bus was unhelpful and backed the driver, he said.

Brian filed a complaint with the police, after which the driver refused to return the phone directly. She eventually handed it to police on Sunday afternoon.

Brian suspects the driver wouldn't have acted so brazenly if his son wasn't disabled.

Gareth relies on the bus. The phone was a gift, given a week ago by a family Gareth helps, who bought it from Home Direct.

It provides valuable peace of mind. If Gareth is at the stadium watching rugby, he can text "car" to be collected. When he rides the bus to explore the city, Brian can keep tabs on him.

"He loves the buses ..."

"No more now," Gareth interjected.

"I don't want to catch the bus, because I don't want to see the lady again."

In a written statement, Go Bus said they were reviewing the incident.

"We are very sorry to hear about this passenger's experience on our services.

"Our operations team have spoken with the passenger's father and have now agreed a plan to restore his confidence in the services we operate."

Commercial director Craig Worth declined to comment further.

A police spokesperson confirmed no charges have been laid.

"The person who took the phone mistakenly thought it belonged to them, having had an identical phone taken in identical circumstances.

"Police always advise people not to take matters into their own hands and refer such incidents directly to police at the time of the event."