Both a Member of Parliament (MP) and SBS Transit have decried the rising incidents of disruptive commuter behaviour on board Singapore’s public transport, warning of “serious consequences”.
One of the cases cited was that of a woman who stopped a bus from moving off in Jurong, said SBS in a Facebook post on Thursday (21 May).
Source: StormFire (Main) on Flickr. Photo for illustration purposes only.
In response to queries from MS News, SBS spokesperson Grace Wu said the incident occurred on a Service 198 bus travelling along Jurong Town Hall Road on the morning of 6 May.
After the bus had moved off from a bus stop, a female commuter came down from the upper deck, pressed the bell and asked the bus captain to stop the bus.
This is because she had missed her bus stop, SBS said in its post.
Source: Google Maps
However, the bus captain was not able to stop for safety reasons as the bus was already on the move, with another bus travelling behind it.
Although the bus captain apologised, the woman raised her voice and remained displeased, Mrs Wu said.
This resulted in the bus being held back at the next bus stop and unable to proceed along its route.
The police was called to assist in the situation, while the 20 passengers on board the bus were forced to be transferred to another bus.
Mrs Wu noted that CCTV footage of the incident showed that the bus had stopped at the woman’s bus stop earlier.
While one commuter got off, the woman did not alight and there was no one else at the exit.
Thus, the bus captain closed the door and the bus moved off, Mrs Wu said, adding:
To avoid this situation, we would like to advise commuters to prepare themselves for alighting if they have the intention to do so.”
Source: Google Maps
SBS has since filed a police report on a potential case of public nuisance with the support of the National Transport Workers’ Union (NTWU), which was tagged in the post.
It noted that disruptive behaviour by commuters is potentially unsafe to themselves, transport workers, and other passengers, and carries “serious consequences”, including legal repercussions.
Those convicted of the offence of public nuisance may be jailed for up to three months and/or fined up to S$2,000.
In a Facebook post on her own on the same day, Punggol GRC MP Yeo Wan Ling noted the recent incident and asserted that she was “deeply concerned” by the increasing incidents faced by public transport workers.
Besides verbal abuse on the ground, they’re also subjected to a “growing trend” of doxxing and online rage-baiting, which targets workers simply doing their jobs, she said.
For example, a bus captain who was recently doxxed became so fearful of being recognised that he was hesitant to leave his bus at the interchange during his break.
“This is unacceptable,” added Ms Yeo, who is also Executive Secretary of the NTWU.
The MP said Singapore’s frontline transport workers keep the nation moving every day, and thus deserve respect, protection and a safe working environment without fear of abuse, harassment or intimidation.
Source: Yeo Wan Ling on Facebook
Behaviour that threatens the safety, dignity and well-being of workers or commuters cannot be normalised, she stated.
NTWU will work closely with tripartite partners to strengthen deterrence against both offline and online harassment, she pledged, adding:
To every transport worker: please know this clearly. Your union stands with you, and I will always stand by our workers.
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Featured image adapted from StormFire (Main) on Flickr. Photo for illustration purposes only.