SINGAPORE, July 19 — A Singapore bus captain who was berated by a passenger for allegedly driving too slowly has filed a police report after the viral confrontation prompted an outpouring of public support for the driver.
The National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU) said it accompanied the Tower Transit bus captain — one of its members — to the police station.
In a Facebook post on Friday, the union said: “NTWU has zero tolerance for any form of harassment, intimidation or abuse against public transport workers.”
The incident erupted after a passenger posted a TikTok video on July 6 showing himself confronting the driver aboard Tower Transit Service 984.
In the footage, the passenger is heard questioning why the bus was travelling so slowly.
“Driving at your own pace? You following your own timing or what? We have our timing [to meet],” the passenger can be heard saying.
The bus captain replied that he was following the standard operating procedure (SOP), but the passenger disputed the explanation.
The clip quickly spread online, but instead of rallying behind the passenger, many social media users criticised him for confronting the driver while he was on duty and praised the bus captain for remaining calm and professional throughout the exchange.
The driver’s handling of the incident also won praise from Singapore’s transport authorities.
Both the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Tower Transit Singapore commended the bus captain for staying calm and professional.
In a Facebook post on July 15, Tower Transit said it had reviewed the trip details and found that the driver had been operating the service in accordance with the planned schedule.
The union said it would continue to stand behind public transport workers facing abuse, reiterating that it has “zero tolerance for any form of harassment, intimidation or abuse against public transport workers.”
