A young woman travelling alone at night has recalled how a bus driver refused to continue the bus’s journey after she boarded with box of fried chicken. Watch the footage below:
Customer assistant Grace Edun was travelling from Woolwich Station, southeast London to her home in Bermondsey on April 12 when the disgruntled Stagecoach driver told her to throw away her food or be left behind at the stop in the dark.
The 23-year-old said not only was she worried about her safety as she travelled home just after midnight but was left humiliated and self-conscious by the driver’s actions.
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Grace said: "I was travelling on my own. It was at night, and I thought I’d be forced off the bus.
"It can be quite scary at night, and I’d have had to wait for another bus on my own. I could not believe it. I thought it was a joke."
Adding: “I have always eaten on buses, on the way home from school and that.
"There weren't that many people on the bus anyway. Some people were just shouting at him to just drive the bus.
"I felt really embarrassed. People were looking at me eating and I felt so fat. I felt a bit depressed by it. I went and sat upstairs right at the front for extra safety."
The whole row was captured on the double decker’s CCTV with the driver refusing to budge while she was onboard.
The company’s policy on eating on buses states food is only prohibited if it causes 'offence' or 'upset' to other passengers.
In the clip, the driver is seen banging on the screen to get her attention as she walks on said: "Oi sweetheart, you can’t come on with that food."
To which a shocked Grace replied: "I can’t come on with food?"
He added: "You can’t come on with fried chicken like that love."
Grace replied: "What? When was that a rule?"
The driver repeated himself saying: "You can’t come on with open food like that. Get outside or get rid of it."
Grace - who had been visiting a friend at her house - went upstairs on the bus because she didn't want the confrontation.
He then said to another passenger: "What is the matter with her? I told her she can’t come on with fried food and she’s walked upstairs. She can’t come on with fried chicken mate because it stinks the bus out."
But another passenger asks the driver to just carry on with the journey to which the driver said: "It’s not me delaying it mate. I told her the rules."
Stagecoach’s website states: "You can't eat or drink anything that will cause offence or upset other passengers.
"We want everyone to have a pleasant journey on our buses. We really appreciate you helping us ensure that happens."
However, Marlon Osborne, TfL’s Head of Operations, said: "While it is our policy to ask passengers not to board buses with open containers of food for the sake of other customers, we ask drivers to occasionally use their discretion to prevent anyone being left behind late at night.
"In this instance Ms Edun’s safety was the priority and she was able to complete her journey.
"The bus operator has spoken to the driver about the right way to approach situations of this nature in the future."
Topics: UK News
Lisa McLoughlin