by Lamiat Sabin

A BUS company was forced to apologise yesterday for back-of-vehicle adverts that show a semi-naked woman with a placard saying: “Ride me all day for £3.”New Adventure Travel Group (NAT), which operates in south Wales, came under fire from Everyday Sexism campaigners who tweeted a picture of one of the buses carrying the inflammatory message.

Alongside the image, they wrote: “Hey @NAT_Group aren’t half of your customers women? Have you thought this through? #EverydaySexism”

The advert was also slammed as “bloody appalling” by Plaid Cymru politician and Welsh Assembly member Simon Thomas.

He questioned whether the bus company, which mainly runs services from the Pontypridd terminal, gets any subsidies from the Welsh government.

NAT released a statement justifying the adverts by saying that it was part of an attempt to make “catching the bus attractive to the younger generation.”

It continued: “The slogan of ‘ride me all day for £3’ while being a little tongue in cheek was in no way intended to cause offence to either men or women and if the advert has done so then we apologise unreservedly. 

“There has certainly been no intention to objectify either men or women.”

As well as the image of a young woman, NAT also used one of a topless man holding the same placard. Social media users criticised it as an “unacceptable” way to sell more tickets.

The adverts will be removed within 24 hours, the company — that prides itself on ferrying around sports teams such as Swansea City — had also added.

The Advertising Standards Authority said it had received 45 complaints about the advert.