SINGAPORE — After being denied entry to a bus because her child with special needs wasn’t wearing a face mask, a mother highlighted on social media the need for more awareness on the matter.
“I’m very disappointed with the SBS driver of bus 76. I am a mother of a 12-year-old son (autism and non-verbal),” the woman wrote on the Facebook page Complaint Singapore on Saturday (Jan 7). She shared that they boarded the bus opposite the Big Mac Centre at Ang Mo Kio at around 7:40 pm.
Despite showing the special needs card and explaining to the bus captain that her son had special needs, the driver refused to start the bus unless her son wore a mask. She explained that she had never had this issue before and would be allowed to board buses in the past with her son not wearing a mask.
The bus captain allegedly told the woman that he was merely following standard operating procedure and would have to call headquarters to check.
“I told him that the government allows special needs to be an exemption in wearing a mask. I told him to go ahead and make it a quick one as I do not want to waste other passengers’ time, and I apologised to all the passengers as this is wasting everybody’s time,” said the mother.
Meanwhile, another passenger walked up to the mother and offered her a mask. She informed him that she also had masks in her bag, but her son would have a meltdown if she forced him to wear one.
“This guy seemed pissed and walked away. I’m quite pressured with glares from the passengers as the bus driver refused to start the bus.”
In the end, the family had to get off the bus and wait for another as the call to HQ took too long.
“This is the first time such an unfortunate incident happened as we have met really awesome drivers previously. We tried calling the SBS transit call centre for help, but there’s nobody answering the call,” she wrote.
The mother explained she wasn’t trying to make things difficult for others but was disappointed that public awareness of special needs “are so bad.”
“It is not easy to be a caregiver of special needs. We just hope to be treated fairly and with due respect too. It is fortunate that my son did not have a meltdown due to this, and my husband is with me. I cannot imagine the case if my son is to have a meltdown due to this,” she added.
Netizens also urged SBS Transit to inform its bus captain of the exemptions for special needs individuals.
According to the Ministry of Health website, mask-wearing is not recommended for children below the age of two years for child safety reasons. “Medical experts have also advised that some groups may have difficulties, including children with special needs, and we will exercise flexibility in enforcement for these groups.”
The Independent Singapore has reached out to SBS Transit for a statement and will update the article accordingly. /TISG
UPDATE: Jan 9, 2023
Mrs Grace Wu, Vice President (Special Grade), Customer Experience and Communications of SBS Transit, has responded and clarified the incident today with the below statement:
“We are sorry for the distress and inconvenience caused to Ms Chacco Tlm’s family. Based on guidelines, our Bus Captain should have exercised flexibility in this situation and concurrently, reported it to our Operations Control Centre (OCC). As mask wearing is mandatory on public transport, our Bus Captain wanted to be sure and sought clarification from our OCC before he continued on the journey. Unfortunately, Ms Tlm and her family decided to alight from the bus before our OCC could respond affirmatively. We will remind our Bus Captain on the guidelines so that he can better manage such situations in the future.”
S’pore bus captain gives distressed boy chocolates, mother commends his kindness