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SBS Transit has responded to the report of a bus captain who was captured flashing his middle finger to another road user on the morning of Aug. 17.
It denied allegations that their bus captain was driving in an unsafe manner, and said that the footage that was shared by the road user did not "fully reflect" what happened at the road junction.
However, SBS Transit will counsel the bus captain and said he should have kept his cool even under "provocative circumstances."
Private car driver used "abusive language" against bus captain, repeatedly brake-checked
In response to queries from Mothership, Grace Wu, Vice President of Customer Experience and Communications at SBS Transit said they have conducted an investigation into the incident.
Wu said their investigations revealed that the footage as shared by the private car driver did not "fully reflect what transpired at the traffic junction yesterday morning" (Aug. 17).
The road user alleged that the bus captain drove in an inconsiderate and unsafe manner, and reacting angrily when confronted, even telling him to meet at the Hougang bus depot, where he would be waiting.
But Wu shared more information of what had happened before the confrontation, based on CCTV footage from the bus.
Bus captain did not drive in an unsafe manner: SBS Transit
Wu denied allegations that their bus captain drove in an unsafe manner.
"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," Wu said.
She added that the private car driver was on the right of the bus when both vehicles stopped at the traffic lights.
"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," she said.
"He also started to use abusive language against the Bus Captain and this led to an exchange between both parties," Wu added.
Bus captain will be counselled
But she recognised that the bus captain should have behaved differently in the situation.
"Our Bus Captain should have maintained his cool even under provocative circumstances. For this, we will counsel and train him to do better," she said.
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Top photos via Mothership reader and SGRV/FB