蜜芽传媒

One of the first female bus drivers in the UK says she is fighting to keep her job after a new bus design left her unable to reach the pedals.

Tracey Scholes, 57, from Heywood in Manchester is 5ft tall and says that because of her height she can no longer drive the new buses safely.

The position of their wing mirrors means she has reduced visibility and has to change position which means she could not keep her feet on the pedals.

She says that when she raised this with the bus company, she was put on a different route which had a lower rate of pay.

Tracey faces her second appeal to recoup her lost earnings after she was put on different bus routes.

Thousands of people have signed a petition to support her cause.

A spokesperson for the bus company Go North West said:

鈥淭racey was a valued member of our team at Go North West and we are extremely sorry to see her go. The design of the mirrors on our buses was agreed after consultation with Unite some time ago. All our other drivers of similar height to Tracey are able to view them safely.

鈥淲hen Tracey raised a concern with us, we made numerous proposals to accommodate her, including offering to put her on different routes, and different types of buses. Unfortunately, all our suggestions were rejected.

鈥淒edicated, experienced, hardworking bus drivers are difficult to find and so we would never act lightly in a situation like this. We are sorry that we were left with no choice but to bring this driver鈥檚 employment to an end.鈥�

You can listen to Tracey鈥檚 full interview with Emma Barnett on Woman鈥檚 Hour via 蜜芽传媒 Sounds.

Show less