Louise Pearson’s usual trip to work turned into an hour-long standoff as a bus driver refused to let her get on a bus with her guide dog, Arthur.

Pearson said to 10 Daily that she flagged down the bus and the driver said, “no dogs”.

She then tried to explain that she had been catching the same bus route for four years and said that Arthur needed to come with her for the journey.

"This is Melbourne, Australia, and I always think that we are at the forefront ... that we've got around these issues," she said of the incident.

"I didn’t get angry at all with him this morning or say anything that was in any way rude to him, but I just wasn't going to let the point go because otherwise, people don’t learn."

Another passenger tried to sway the driver by saying that they see Pearson on the same route every day.

"He was sort of moving up and down the bus saying, 'no dogs, you can't have dogs on this bus'," Pearson said.

After the hour-long stand off, police officers in Victoria were called to the scene and offered Pearson a ride in their car. However, she refused and was eventually allowed to continue on her bus trip.

Louise says she feels frustrated about being denied entry to a Dysons bus this morning, with her guide dog Arthur. She said more education is needed about ⁦@GuideDogsVIC⁩ laws pic.twitter.com/Mr70Zj9AT2

— Yasmin Paton (@yaspaton) February 18, 2020

Victoria’s head of transport services Jeroen Weimar told reporters that he was “distressed and disappointed” by the incident.

"Everybody who uses a guide dog is entitled to travel on our public transport system, whether it be a bus, train or tram," Weimar told reporters.

"This is a reminder of how important it is that we continue to educate not only drivers but everyone in society about the importance of guide dogs and also the importance of enabling everybody to live freely and independently."

Guide Dogs Victoria chief executive Karen Hayes says that the organisation’s main role is to ensure there is a “voice at the table” for accessible transport for all members in the community.

"We need to keep the message out there that we need to continue to educate the community about the fact guide dogs aren't pets," Hayes said.

Today our CEO @KarenLHayes fronted the media to address an incident where a Guide Dog handler was refused access to a bus. We are supporting our client through this and acknowledge the need for continued public education about Guide Dog access. Learn more: https://t.co/ws4edPNKoS pic.twitter.com/8eAnVxKfJc

— Guide Dogs Victoria (@GuideDogsVIC) February 18, 2020

"They are working guide dogs to provide freedom and independence to somebody who has blindness or low vision."

Bus company Dysons said that the driver misunderstood the rules for assistance animals on public transport and confirmed that the driver had been stood down as investigations continue.

"We would like to apologise to the passenger for any distress caused by this morning's incident," it said in a statement.

"To ensure this doesn't happen again, we will engage with Guide Dogs Victoria and other applicable organisations to see what training opportunities are available to our company."