Bus captain stops bus, turns off aircon after passenger brings durian on board
Was the bus driver right or wrong?
Passengers on board an SBS bus staged a mini protest recently after the bus captain stopped the bus and switched off the air conditioning.
The reason? A man had just boarded the bus with a bag of durians.
In a video of the incident uploaded onto TikTok, the man is seen standing near the entrance of the bus with a red plastic bag, presumably containing the durians, in his possession.
As the vehicle remains stationary, complaints and protestations can be heard from a number of passengers.
"You're making a big deal out of nothing," one woman said.
"One stop only lah, nevermind lah," another added.
The man with the durians also said that he has taken the bus while carrying durians before without issue. "No one will complain," he told the driver.
One man then yelled from the back of the bus: “Let's go already. You turned off the aircon, how can people breathe?" His comments included a few expletives in Hokkien.
After a while, the bus continues on its way.
@thh0930 ♬ original sound - serena
Many in the comments section have defended the bus driver's actions, pointing out that items such as durians are forbidden on public transport.
In a statement to Mothership, SBS Transit spokesman Grace Wu said: "As a policy, durians are not allowed on board our public buses, and there are signs informing passengers about this.
“This is because their strong odour may cause discomfort to some passengers in the enclosed air-conditioned environment.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to remind passengers to be gracious and considerate when travelling on public transport.
“They should also avoid carrying items that may cause inconvenience to others to avoid causing delays or disruptions to bus journeys.”
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