A recent incident on a SBS Transit bus has sparked a controversy. According to Zaobao, the controversy happened after passengers on the bus complained that the bus captain let them wait too long on the bus as he attended to an elderly passenger who fainted on the bus.
In response to the complaint, SBS Transit said that the doors were open, and passengers could alight the bus if they wanted.
According to Mdm Xiao, a 73-year-old retiree, she and her family were returning home from watching the dragon-themed drone show by Marina Bay Sands (MBS) at around 9pm on the first day of the Lunar New Year. As the bus approached a bus stop in Downtown, it unexpectedly stopped for nearly 40 minutes, leaving the passengers puzzled.
It was later revealed that a male passenger on the bus had fainted, and the bus captain, along with other passengers, came to his aid and helped the man get off the bus. The bus captain was taking care of the man who fainted during this time.
“We didn’t know what happened at the time. The bus was packed with people waiting for the bus to move. Some people wanted to tap out and get off the bus, but the bus captain didn’t activate the card reader, so they couldn’t get off.”
She also revealed that the passengers on the bus were at a loss at that time. Some people got off the bus and left without tapping out. However, there were still nearly 30 people who continued to wait on the bus because they did not want to pay the extra fare.
She said that she had taken the express bus to save time, but ended up waiting for approximately 40 minutes due to the unexpected delay. By the time she got home, it was almost 11pm. The passenger pointed out that it is a good thing for the bus captain to take care of the unwell passenger, but he should first settle the waiting passengers on the bus.
“It wasn’t until the ambulance arrived that the bus captain came up and continued driving without explaining or apologizing. Many people were very angry.”
SBS Transit: The doors were open, and passengers could get off the bus
When asked about the incident, an SBS Transit spokesperson said that based on the CCTV footage, the actions taken by the bus captain complied with standard operating procedures.
“He notified the passengers on the bus that an ambulance had been called and in the meantime, they could take another bus if they wished to. He also added that he did not know how long it would take for the ambulance to arrive. And for passengers who wished to get off the bus, the front and rear doors are open, and the bus card reader is also activated for use,” he added.
