Plenty of room for Mike on city buses

4:38pm Tuesday 16th January 2007

Comments (12)   Have your say »

Tall people boarding buses in Bradford do not have to fear being thrown off - unlike lofty travellers in London.

One of Britain's tallest people, Bierley father-of-two Mike Harrison, chanced his arm by boarding a First bus in Market Street, after hearing how a woman was ordered off a bus in London for being too tall.

Mike, who at 6ft 8in, stood head-and-shoulders above other travellers in the bus queue, looked a little nervous as he stepped aboard the busy bus service to Shipley, but he need not have worried.

Bus driver Lahsen Ahmadi welcomed him, saying he would never turn anyone down because of their height.

"I have some regular passengers who are very tall and I would not dream of stopping them from coming on," he said.

"This is public transport after all. As long as we know the passenger can get in and out, then that is fine."

The picture is not so rosy for tall men and women in London. Former Yorkshire TV presenter and model Josephine Kime, who is 5ft 11in, was attempting to board the bus to travel home when the driver refused to let her on.

The driver said he did not want her to travel because her height would prevent him from seeing past her towards the back of the vehicle.

Miss Kime, 23, who lives in Chelsea, said she at first thought it was a joke, but when she went to scan her travel card the driver told her to "get off the bus."

Mike, 45, who edits the Bradford City fanzine City Gent, has never experienced anything similar.

"I occasionally go on buses - single deckers are quite spacious. If I'm standing on a double-decker it can be quite uncomfortable, I have to bend my neck. I've never been asked to get off, though. I've never heard of anything like that."

• Start or join a debate on this issue in our online forum - Click here