‘Lust’ in transit
Drivers’ ‘sex ad’ torment
They want to pick up passengers — not the other way around.
The city’s female bus drivers are being harassed by sleazebag passengers over new Museum of Sex ads splashed across the front of their vehicles — and the MTA now concedes that the signs need to go.
“Guys walk onto the bus and say to me, ‘Is this Museum of Sex?’ ” Catherine R., 50, an 11-year driver from Staten Island who didn’t want to reveal her last name, told The Post.
“How am I supposed to respond? I just look at them and roll my eyes up. I can’t really say anything. At night, I’d feel strange because there are more weirdos out. Don’t put the ad smack in front of the bus.”
Ads for the popular museum on Fifth Avenue at 27th Street first appeared on the front of many MTA buses around two weeks ago, featuring large white letters on a black background so waiting passengers can’t miss the message as it pulls into a stop.
“It’s a horrible ad, and that is not what should be advertised in front of a bus,” said a driver who didn’t want to give her name.
“People have made comments to me like, ‘I like that ad. Do you like that ad?’ in a sexual tone. And I don’t like that ad.”
The MTA said it had heard the drivers’ gripes and planned on “moving” the ads — but it wouldn’t immediately explain when they would be gone or where they’re going. Officials also would not say how much the museum paid for the campaign.
“The safety of our workers and all those who use NYC Transit is our top priority. After hearing from bus drivers earlier this week, we have begun the process of moving these ads,” said MTA spokesman Jon Weinstein.
Museum of Sex officials said Friday that they surveyed workers, but couldn’t find scared drivers.
“We have conducted and recorded a dozen interviews of bus drivers in the past two days and have not received a single negative response,” said an official from the museum. “One female driver even inquired: ‘Where is the Museum of Sex? I would like to visit.’ ”
Museum officials also said they “hope to resolve this issue with the MTA and the community amicably, without having to escalate this to a First Amendment case.”
Drivers don’t get to choose which buses they drive, but many women told The Post they would refuse to drive the provocative people movers that are still in service.
The ads have been a hot topic on a private Facebook group for new York City Transit workers, with many members sharing how uncomfortable the situation is.
“I’ve gotten so many negative responses from customers about this ad . . . Like I put it on the bus,” one male driver wrote, according to screen shots of the group’s page shown to The Post.