So… It’s not often you experience this kind of casual sexism from actual bus company employees.
I was on my way home from university for the weekend and using the bus. I had changed my bag from my usual backpack to a hold-all so did not have my official University ID by accident. This became an issue as the ticket inspector required valid student ID with my ticket. This was resolved in the end as I realised I had remembered to pack my ISIC card.
However, I feel that the inspector’s comments were inappropriate. He said: “oh you girls and your bags”. I found this very offensive as he suggested my not having the intended ID was due to a fashion choice and not down to the fact I had made a practical choice to pack my clothes in a larger bag for the weekend. This was after I explained the situation to him. I had a male friend present with me during this incident and felt the inspector was trying to gang up on me. Which backfired…
I recently had a seperate run in with the man despite having both valid ticket and ID this time… He apologised to the male passenger next to me for the inconvenience of the exchange between us. Charming.