LONDON — When Jack James, 23, received a peck on his lips from his boyfriend while riding a No. 89 bus near Blackheath, Southeast London last August, probably the last thing he was expecting was to be ordered off the bus. But that is exactly what happened and has just now come to light in an incident that is beginning to take on national headlines in a country that has long championed civil rights for women and minorities before they were fashionable.
The Guardian, the Standard, the Mirror and the Metro are all reporting about the incident that has officials at Go-Ahead, which owns and operates the bus line, and Transport for London scrambling for a response. All customers have the right to use our services without fear of being abused and offensive behaviour is completely unacceptable. “We would like to reassure Mr. James that this matter is being taken very seriously and that a thorough investigation is being conducted by [bus company] Go-Ahead.”
The incident began innocently enough. The two men were chatting away when Jack’s boyfriend leaned into him and gave him quick peck on the lips. What followed stunned the young couple:
“The bus driver shouted: ‘Oi, you two, don’t do that on my f**king bus or you can get off, I don’t want to watch that’.” James said that, initially, the couple thought the driver could not be speaking to them. He added, “When the bus stopped at our stop I walked up to the driver and politely asked the driver if he was talking to us. His reply was: ‘Yes, it’s my bus, it is my rules, and I don’t want to watch that. It’s disgusting. Get off the bus.’ Once we got off the bus we were fuming and I was shaking. The bus stopped again and he shouted and told us we were not real men and we should f**k off.”
The incident occurred Aug. 8 at approximately 10:30 p.m. As part of their investigation, transit officials will be reviewing transportation video and calling in witnesses. The driver, who is currently on a leave of absence, has not made a public statement yet.
