- A young woman travelling alone at night was told she couldn’t board a bus.
- Her fried chicken would ‘stink it out.’
- The driver confronted her, telling her she would have to discard the wings or risk being left waiting in the dark.
A young woman travelling alone at night was told she couldn’t board a bus because her fried chicken would ‘stink it out.’
As Grace Edun climbed onto the N53 at Woolwich Station in southeast London, the driver confronted her, telling her she would have to discard the wings or risk being left waiting in the dark.
Grace, 23, expressed concern for her safety during the 40-minute ride back to Bermondsey after midnight on April 12.
She also talked about how the standoff made her feel humiliated because other passengers were staring at her while she was eating.
The driver of the double decker refused to budge while Grace was onboard, as seen on the double decker’s CCTV. Other passengers agreed with her and advised him to continue on his journey.
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Stagecoach, which runs the N53 route for Transport for London, has been asked to apologize.
Food is only prohibited on buses if it causes ‘offence’ or ‘upset’ to other passengers, according to the company’s rules.
‘I was travelling alone,’ Grace explained. It was late at night, and I was afraid I’d be kicked off the bus.
‘At night, it can be rather scary, and I would have had to wait for another bus on my own.’
‘I couldn’t believe it,’ she continued. ‘At first, I assumed it was a joke.’
At 12:06 a.m., the CCTV tape shows her getting aboard.
‘Oi love, you can’t come on with that food,’ the driver bangs on the screen to gain her attention as she goes on.
Grace responds with surprise, ‘I can’t come on with food?’
‘You can’t come on with fried chicken like that, sweetheart,’ he continued.
‘What?’ Grace responded. When did that become a rule?’
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‘You can’t come on with open food like that,’ the driver stated again. ‘Either go out of here or get rid of it.’
Grace, who had been visiting a friend at her home, boarded the bus upstairs to avoid the conflict.
‘What’s the wrong with her?’ he asked another passenger. She headed upstairs when I told her she couldn’t come on with fried food.
‘She can’t bring fried chicken on the bus, mate, because it stinking the place up.’
When another passenger requests that the driver simply continue the voyage, he responds, ‘It’s not me delaying it, mate.’ ‘I explained the regulations to her.’
‘I’ve always eaten on buses, on the way home from school, and stuff like that,’ Grace continued.
‘In any case, there weren’t too many people on the bus.’ Some folks were simply yelling at him to get on the bus.
‘I felt extremely humiliated. People were staring at me as I ate, and I felt awful. It made me feel a little down. For extra protection, I went upstairs and sat in the front row.’
‘You can’t eat or drink anything that will offend or upset other passengers,’ according to the Stagecoach website.
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‘We want everyone to enjoy their ride on our buses.’ We much appreciate your assistance in ensuring that this occurs.’
‘While it is our policy to encourage 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,’ said TfL’s Head of Operations, Marlon Osborne.
‘Ms. Edun’s safety was prioritized in this case, and she was able to complete her journey.’
‘The bus operator has spoken with the driver on how to handle similar circumstances in the future.’
