‘Passenger is rude to the driver… So entitled!’ — Netizens say after passenger scolded driver for driving off despite him waving ‘in front of the bus’

SINGAPORE: A heated video posted on Instagram by @thesgdaily, featuring a fiery encounter between a passenger and a Tower Transit bus driver, has left most netizens rallying behind the bus driver.

The incident, which took place at night, was captured by the passenger himself: “I was running towards you for such a long time, and I waved at you for super long,” the passenger insisted, claiming he was right in front of the bus when the bus driver drove off without stopping.

The passenger continued pressing the issue, accusing the driver of ignoring him intentionally. The driver then lost his patience, and his voice went up: “You listen first! If there is nobody at the bus stop, I won’t stop; I will just go!” he retorted.

 

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When the passenger refused to back down, the driver snapped, repeating his question three times before justifying his loss of composure: “What did you scold me now? What did you scold me now? What did you scold me now? You scold my mother, you know. Who the hell are you, man? You want me to call the police?”

The confrontation quickly escalated into a shouting match, and when the driver, noticing he was being recorded on video via the passenger’s mobile phone, appeared to reach for the phone and asked, “Why you take photo?”

“The passenger is rude to the driver… So entitled!”

The video lit up social media, but instead of sympathy for the out-of-breath passenger, most viewers threw their support behind the driver.

“The passenger is rude to the driver… So entitled!” one commenter wrote. “He could have missed seeing you. He’s driving and must also see who is running in the nighttime?”

Another commenter dropped a truth bomb with comedic flair: “It’s called BUS STOP for a reason, not BUS RUNNING. Come on, bro, everyone must wait for you running, eh?”

Many were quick to remind that bus drivers have schedules to follow — and obligations to everyone onboard.

“If you [run] not at the bus stop, it’s not my [business] problem,” one quoted the driver, praising his response. “He thinks the driver is his personal chauffeur?” another quipped while one more schooled him with: “Go get your own car or take a cab, lah!”

“Both are wrong!”

A few commenters pointed out that while the commuter was out of line, the driver’s reaction could’ve been more measured.

“Both are wrong!” one commented. “The passenger is too self-entitled, and the driver’s aggressive behaviour is unacceptable. Just a small problem becomes a big problem,” another commented.

Still, others rebutted that the driver only lost his temper after being insulted.

“He wasn’t aggressive at first,” someone clarified. “He got angry because the guy scolded his mother. Anybody would have reacted that way,” another chimed in.

Also, perhaps one of the most pointed comments of all: “You missed the bus, you just wait la. You miss the flight, you can run after the plane, meh?”

Chasing a moving bus from a distance is a gamble

According to SBS Transit and Go-Ahead Singapore’s FAQs, bus captains should stop for approaching passengers, but only if they are clearly within the bus stop bay. Once the bus starts to pull away, the driver’s attention is on traffic. Chasing a moving bus from a distance is a gamble.

In this case, it remains unclear whether the commuter reached the bus stop in time or was sprinting from afar. What’s certain is that he managed to board eventually — and instead of taking the win, chose to confront the driver with a phone in hand and entitlement turned up to the max!

Respect goes both ways…

This viral episode isn’t just about a missed bus. It’s also about public civility, boundaries, and how not to act when things don’t go your way.

As one netizen put it for the passenger: “The bus driver is NOT your personal chauffeur. This is public transport, not a private service.”

And for the driver, another concluded with refreshing clarity: “There is always a better way to resolve this. When both sides are on fire, look at it objectively.”

If there’s one thing this saga taught us, it’s that being on time saves more than your seat — it might just save your dignity too.

In other news, in Singapore’s ever-evolving saga of ride-hailing dramas, another video surfaced — this time starring a Tada driver vs passenger whose simple request for cooler air ended with a chilling command: “Get out!”

You can read about their fiery encounter over here: ‘Get out! Get out! This is my car, I’m asking you to get out!’ — Tada driver ejects passenger for asking to ‘increase air-con speed’