Bus driver suspended for altercation with passenger

Local bus service operator New Era has released a statement apologizing for an incident in which one of its bus drivers was involved in a physical altercation with a female passenger.
The incident took place in the early evening of August 17. The passenger was asking the driver about the long waiting time when they started arguing. The woman then tried to record the driver’s actions’ with a smartphone, but the driver became emotional and hit her.
In the statement, New Era says that it has passed the incident over to the police to investigate. The operator says that the driver regrets his actions and is willing to apologize face-to-face to the affected passenger and her family.
The company has also released a notice to its staff members, asking them to learn from this incident and prevent similar events from happening in the future.
In an exclusive interview with TDM, New Era managing director Daniel Fang Li Qun said that the driver has already been suspended. The company will also compensate the woman.
“We are a public service [provider]. Drivers have no reason to scold passengers, let alone beat them,” Mr Fang said.
However, he claimed that some drivers have told the company that some passengers complain loudly to drivers when there are problems with the traffic. The managing director expressed his wish that both drivers and passengers respect each other.