UK: Christian man refuses to drive bus because of Stonewall gay rights poster
Stonewall has criticised a Yorkshire bus driver after he allegedly refused to operate a bus because it displayed an advert for the gay rights charity on its exterior.
According to the Daily Mail, the unnamed driver would not get on the X78 from Rotherham to Sheffield, and passengers were left stranded on the vehicle for twenty minutes.
Among those on the bus was Rebecca Neill, 25, from Herringthorpe, South Yorkshire.
She told the Mail “There were quite a few passengers arguing with him and several drivers as well. Someone was shouting at him: ‘You can’t do that, it’s disgusting.’
“Then another driver got on and explained what was going on. He apologised and said that the poster wasn’t acceptable to this Christian, but that he didn’t agree with what the guy was doing.”
Eventually, the next X78 service arrived and its driver swapped buses with the protester.
In response to the incident, Stonewall’s Information Officer Louise Kelly said: “Passengers in Rotherham can rightly expect bus drivers to do the job they pay them to do – drive buses.
“If they are unwilling to, perhaps they should look for another job.”
A spokesman for bus operator First Group said: “We are aware of an incident involving one of our drivers refusing to drive a bus at Rotherham Interchange.
“We have spoken to the driver in question and the matter has now been resolved. We would like to apologise to any customers that were affected during this isolated incident.”
However, the decision was met with criticism by religious anti-gay protesters, who tried unsuccessfully to place adverts which read: “Not gay! Post-gay, ex-gay and proud. Get over it!” on a smaller number of buses.
The move was subsequently blocked by London Mayor Boris Johnson.
