SBS Transit to discipline employee captured on video yelling at senior who jumped queue

SINGAPORE – Transport operator SBS Transit will take disciplinary action against one of its traffic inspectors after a video surfaced on Nov 21 showing him yelling at an elderly man.

In the video, posted to The SG Daily’s Facebook page, the traffic inspector appears to shout an expletive at the older man just outside the doors of a bus as he tells him to go back and queue.

The incident took place at the Johor Bahru checkpoint bus stop at around 7pm on Nov 19.

In response to queries, SBS Transit spokesperson Grace Wu said the employee was stopping the older man from jumping the queue when boarding bus service 170 in order “to maintain orderly boarding for passenger safety”.

The passenger, however, refused to comply with repeated instructions from both the traffic inspector and the bus driver, she added.

Despite this, the traffic inspector “could have managed the situation more calmly and professionally”, said Mrs Wu, who explained that the disciplinary action is meant to avoid a similar scenario from taking place again.

She added: “We would also like to take this opportunity to encourage passengers to be gracious and considerate, and this includes taking turns to board buses in an orderly manner as this helps ensure a safer and more pleasant journey for everyone.”

In a Facebook post at about 8pm on Nov 22, the National Transport Workers’ Union said it recognised the need for public transport workers to maintain “high levels of professionalism”.

But it acknowledged that traffic inspectors work under pressure to ensure that passengers are able to board buses safely and smoothly, adding that the Singapore-Malaysia land crossing is the busiest in the world, with long queues during peak hours being common.

“We also urge all commuters to play their part. Showing respect to frontline workers and following queue instructions help create a safer, smoother, and more considerate journeys for everyone,” the post said.