Busman Said He'd Dump Us Because We Are Gay

Nov 4 2007 By Bruce Walker

Exclusive

A TEENAGE couple claim a bus driver threatened to dump them by the road for being gay.

Steven Black, 16, and Mark Craig, 19, said the late-night bus driver took offence because Mark had his arm around Steven's shoulder.

Waiter Steven said: "The driver stopped at the side of the road and told us to get off.

"He told us he would not move the bus unless we got off or sat apart.

"The driver said he was 'not putting up with our s**t'. He made us feel like complete freaks.

"If we had been all over each other, I could understand - because that behaviour in public is not appropriate whatever your sexuality. But Mark just had his arm around my shoulder."

Steven added that they made the decision to sit apart on the Stagecoach bus from Aberdeen bus station to Old-meldrum, Aberdeenshire, because they had no other way of getting home.

Steven added: "I have never been so humiliated in my life. I just can't believe we are still made to feel like second-class citizens."

The couple, who are planning a civil partnership in the near future, now plan to take legal action.

Bob Hall, of Stagecoach, said: "We take complaints extremely seriously and will carry out thorough investigations, following disciplinary procedure as necessary."

The company's deeply religious boss Brian Souter donated £500,000 to a campaign against the repeal of Clause 28, which banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools.