Upset over handling of bus passenger who failed to pay
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ON FRIDAY Jan 19 at around 8.20pm, I witnessed a person taking a free ride on an SBS bus - SBS 7401G.
This person was then reported to the police by the bus driver, after he stopped the bus along the roadside near Pasir Panjang Police Post.
The driver got off and went to get the police. He then took the officer up to the second level of the bus to catch the person who had not paid his fare.
The officer questioned the person, and he admitted that he had not paid, claiming that he did not have the money to do so.
The policeman asked him to open his belongings. After searching and talking to him for around five minutes, the policeman took the non-paying passenger down the aisle.
As they went downstairs, another passenger grumbled that he was short on time and asked that the bus driver depart soon.
But the bus driver reacted negatively and challenged this second passenger, which resulted in the second passenger grumbling that the bus driver should not have called the police and wasted the other passengers' time.
The policeman then yelled up from first level in Mandarin at the second passenger, 'Uncle, this is the police conducting work. Please cooperate.'
The bus driver then gloated in Hokkien: 'Got problem, talk to the policeman.'
After this, the policeman and the bus driver got off the bus and went to the police post. Not knowing how long they would be, quite a few passengers got off the bus and trekked to the nearest bus-stop. After another five minutes or so, the bus driver got back in and drove off.
My complaint to the police is this: When the non-paying passenger admitted his guilt, the police should have taken him to the police post and not searched his belongings on the bus. As the bus was in the middle of the road, it was a danger to all the passengers on board, who were waiting for the incident to end quickly.
Also, when the 'uncle' complained, the words used by the policeman were maybe polite, but the tone was clearly wrong. It seemed that he was trying to impress the crowd that he was the almighty policeman and all should fear his power. He was not trying to defuse the situation, but to frighten the aggrieved passenger into submission.
Lastly, when the policeman, the non-paying passenger and bus driver got off the bus, they should have let the passengers know how long they had to wait.
My complaint to SBS is this: There is a better way to deal with these sorts of passengers. Reporting to the police should only be the last resort.
How safe is it to stop a bus in the middle of the road to go and get the police? For such a minor case, it is not worth risking the lives of the passengers on board.
When the second passenger complained, the driver was not at all polite. In fact, it seemed he had had a rather bad day. Things could have been settled quite peacefully if only he had smiled and eaten a little humble pie.
And then there was the fact that the driver not once informed the passengers how long they needed to wait.
I hope that both the police and SBS learn from the incident and improve their public relations.
After all, it takes only one person on the ground to destroy the entire image of the fleet.
Wil Ng Chin Wee -
isnt it stupid to get the police involved just because one commuter couldnt afford to pay?
i thought our police officers are always very busy.
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A few cents nia report to police. =.=
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okok, I'll fork out 2 bucks for the guy who didn't pay, lets now all be on our merry way.
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the police really bo liao.
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hai why like that ...
Zzz
not worth -
the transport operators should teach the bus captain some basic mathematics.
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Are you Wil?
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I thought the bus driver did the right thing, but maybe the situation can be done better, such as isolating the culprit and then ask all the passengers to shift to another bus.
Ma huan lah, but hor, no reason to see someone not paying to take the bus while you are a paying passenger, right? -
The bus driver must be craving for attention
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some bus drivers also racist ones. for example today earlier the bus i took, got 1 stop a indian came up. he tapped but nothing happened, and the bus driver didn;t move off waiitng for him to finally tap before driving off. i am quite sure he'll ask the guy to get off if he did not have the means to pay for it.
and a few stops later, a chinese woman came up. same thing happened, but he didn't stop to wait for her to tap. just moved off straight while she's still trying to find the "g spot" in her bag. -
All bus drivers should be given handphone camera to take photo of passengers who never pay. The photo should then be mms to police.
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But nowadays a lot of buses also got surveillance camerasOriginally posted by norm:All bus drivers should be given handphone camera to take photo of passengers who never pay. The photo should then be mms to police. -
i kana before this kind of incident...
one old uncle dun wanna pay...
i kan the uncle..the uncle oso dun wanna pay...the bus conductor suggested call police...the driver oso ask me to calm down...then move on liao..
too bad i alighted like 3 stops after the incident...dun know what happen after that...
what do u all think about paying for this kind of people?
its not a good idea right? since they might be dependent on other people next time... -
THe bus driver stupid or wad? jsut because of a few cents of fare cause so big delay.
Woundnt SBS be fined much more for the delay? -
welcome 2 sg...
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I'll throw 2 bucks into the box, now lets be on our merry way.
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He nvr study economics
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where stupidity rules!!!Originally posted by tt3:welcome 2 sg... 
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i was about to say opportunity costOriginally posted by finoq:He nvr study economics -
some drivers chase the guy off at the next stop.
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time to upgrade those bus drivers.. but we are suppose to have a world class transport system with world class serice right?
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why must escalate until that level?
damn jialat lah SBS must be their management directive....
there are a number of times i didn't have enough on my ezlink, paid $2 cash (smallest amt i had on me) for a short bus ride. The driver didn't give me back any change. Should I go to the police then? Same principle what?! -
pity the other passengers, so much time wasted.
all three involved are to blame if you ask me -
the bus driver already brought the guy to the police post. do you think that the policeman can just turn them both away just like that?Originally posted by used:the police really bo liao.
given a chance, i'm sure the policeman would rather not attend to such a bo liao case as this. you must remember that he is the only one in the NPP, as NPPs operate with only one person. If there are people in the post in the midst of lodging report, or people who would like to lodge report, how?
granted, if i were one of the other passengers in the bus, i'd feel aggrieved too. but then, the police have already been called in. which means that police intervention is required. they cannot just walk away just like that. which is why he had to make enquiries about what had happened and all that. a preliminary investigation has to take place. all this takes time. it always does. no investigation, no matter how advanced or preliminary, gets settled in a matter of minutes.
it didn't help too that the said passenger [who didn't want to pay] proved to be a difficult person. and a harsher tone of voice would then be required to deal with one such person.
also, did you ever think that by searching the belongings of the said person on the bus, the person's particulars could then be obtained, and if he proved to have an ez-link card or cash on him, he could be made to pay, and everyone would then be off on their way as soon as possible?
i believe that this entire incident could have been averted if:Originally posted by dragg:isnt it stupid to get the police involved just because one commuter couldnt afford to pay?
i thought our police officers are always very busy.
the bus driver didn't go to the police. i agree, the police should be only used as a last resort.
besides, failure to pay fare is actually an issue under the jurisdiction of the Land Transport Authority. Bus & taxi drivers would do well to know that.
and look at how he conveniently hides behind the policeman with his sentence: 'Got problem, talk to the policeman'.
I wonder what SBS has to say about this particular driver of theirs...