Shorts ban introduced, so train drivers wear skirts to work instead
What’s the best way to get around bureaucracy? Follow the rules.
A group of male train drivers in Stockholm, Sweden, have rebelled against a ban on wearing shorts to work by wearing skirts instead.
13 drivers working the Roslagsbanan commuter train services have been wearing skirts to keep cool as it gets so hot in the train cab, especially in summer.
According to the Local.se, one driver, Martin Åkersten, told the local newspaper Mitti: “It can be over 35 degrees celsius in the train cab on hot summer days.”
He went on to say: “Of course people stare at you a little when you are on the platform, but you just have to put up with it.”
Employer Arriva banned the drivers from wearing shorts after taking over the running of the line in January.
But the company has given the men its blessing to wear skirts, according to local newspaper Mitti.
“Our thinking is that one should look decent and proper when representing Arriva and the present uniforms do that. If the man only wants [to wear] a skirt then that is OK,” Arriva communications manager Tomas Hedenius told the paper.
“To tell them to do something else would be discrimination.”
