A bus company is warning drivers to not call passengers 'babe' in a bid to avoid lawsuits from offended women.

Brighton & Hove Buses posted warnings to drivers in its head offices after a complaint from a woman who said she felt insulted by being called 'babe' when she boarded a bus.

The company also warned drivers they could face the sack if they call passengers 'love' or 'darling'.

One employee, who did not want to be named, said: 'It's just the height of political correctness. The drivers know how to best speak to customers.

'People don't want their drivers to be robots. What is the world coming to when you can't have a bit of friendly banter with passengers?'

The sign reads: 'Please can drivers be aware that some of our customers may take offence at having terms such as "love", "darling" and "babe" directed towards them.

'This can be seen by some as being a sexist comment, as a recent complaint has highlighted.'

Managing director Roger French said: 'A lady complained to us that she thought the language used by a driver was demeaning to her.

'We take a lot of customer feedback so we thought we would pass this on. The drivers will understand and take it in good spirit.'

英国一家公交公司提醒司机，不要称呼乘客“亲”，以防认为受辱的女性起诉。

布赖顿和霍夫公交公司总部近日贴出了这则警告通知。事情的起因是公司接到一名女乘客投诉，称某次上车时，司机称呼她“亲”，她当时感觉受到了侮辱。

该公司还警告司机，如果对女乘客使用“亲”这类词汇，司机将面临被炒鱿鱼的风险。

一名不愿意透露姓名的司机说：“这样做实在是‘过头了’。司机们知道该怎么称呼乘客最好。”

“人们不会希望司机都像机器人一样。如果和乘客之间不能说笑，世界将会变得多么冷冰冰啊。”

通知写道：“请司机注意，有些乘客认为被直呼‘亲爱的’、‘宝贝’、‘亲’是受到了侮辱。”

“这对有些人来说有性意味，就像最近的一起投诉提到的那样。”

总经理罗杰•弗兰齐说：“有位女士向我们投诉，她认为司机使用这样的语言对她是种侮辱。”

“我们接到了很多顾客反馈，所以我们觉得应该这样做。司机们会理解，并且愉快地接受。”