SBS Transit refutes allegations that bus driver was not driving safely in video

SINGAPORE: SBS Transit on Thursday (Aug 18) refuted allegations online that a bus driver was not driving safely and that he failed to give way to a pedestrian at a zebra crossing.

A video of an altercation at a traffic junction in Hougang on Wednesday was posted on the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page and on YouTube.

Mrs Grace Wu, SBS Transit’s vice president (special grade) of customer experience and communications, said on Thursday that the footage "does not fully reflect what transpired".

In the video, an SBS Transit bus can be seen passing a construction worker on the side of the road. It then stops at a zebra crossing to allow a pedestrian to cross, before driving off. Two pedestrians can be seen approaching the crossing after.

The video is then cut to the bus driver gesturing and shouting at the camera. The Facebook and YouTube description said the bus driver failed to give way to a pedestrian at the zebra crossing, was driving dangerously and had shown the middle finger.

As of Thursday evening, more than 28,000 people have seen the video on Facebook.

In response to CNA’s query, Mrs Wu said on Thursday that the company has conducted an investigation into the incident.

“We wish to point out that our bus captain did not drive in an unsafe manner as alleged by the private car driver," she added.

"In fact, our bus captain had also stopped at the pedestrian crossing to give way to a pedestrian. The two other pedestrians were still a distance away when our bus captain moved forward."

She added that based on the closed-circuit television camera footage from the bus, the car driver was on the right of the bus when both vehicles stopped at the traffic light.

“The private car driver then moved in front of the bus and for reasons not obvious to us, repeatedly applied the brakes suddenly although there were no traffic conditions ahead that required him to do so,” said Mrs Wu.

“He also started to use abusive language against the bus captain and this led to an exchange between both parties.”  

She added that the bus driver should have maintained his cool “even under provocative circumstances”, and that the company will “counsel and train him” to do better.