TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taichung City Government Transportation Bureau said it is investigating Taichung Bus after a driver verbally and physically abused passengers on Thursday (Dec. 22).
The incident was reported by SuzanneBirds, a Hong Kong blogger residing in the city. In a Facebook post, she wrote that at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, she took a bus on which an elderly man in his 70s or 80s slightly delayed the bus due to mobility issues.
According to SuzanneBirds, the bus was delayed by less than a minute. Before the man had sat down on the bus, the driver was already berating him, saying, “Old people like you should not take the bus! You’ve made me late! If you have mobility issues, you should take a taxi or have your family drive you!” The driver allegedly continued his tirade despite the passengers’ defense of the elderly man’s right to take the bus.
SuzanneBirds wrote that as she sat in the row in front of the elderly man, she helped him pay the fare and ring the bell to get off the bus. When the driver continued his verbal attack, she responded by saying, “Driver, shut up! You’ve been admonishing him during his whole ride. What is the use of saying these things to embarrass the old man?”
The driver then parked the vehicle 20 meters from the elderly man’s bus stop and refused to keep driving, wrote SuzanneBirds. He allegedly claimed that the bus had broken down and shooed all the passengers off.
SuzanneBirds wrote that after she helped the elderly man, who had difficulty walking across the road, the bus driver was about to drive off. She stood in front of the vehicle and told the driver, “Didn’t you say the bus broke down? I’ll wait here with you until your company’s staff arrives.”
“Unexpectedly, the driver drove forward and did not stop after he hit me. After he pushed me back some distance, the driver got out of the bus and began beating me,” SuzanneBirds wrote. “The driver pushed me to make me fall a few times, then picked me up from the ground to throw me down elsewhere. All the while, he kept throwing punches at my head and back, and even pressed me down on a scratch card table to assault me.”
SuzanneBirds added that while she was being attacked, a female passenger tried to talk some sense into the driver but was ignored. “Later, a couple passing by began taking photos on their phones and called the police. The assailant, perhaps noticing that a crowd was gathering, which included men, ran away.”
She wrote that she was crying when she went to the hospital to get her wounds inspected and the police station to make a report. When the driver and a Taichung Bus representative arrived at the police station for mediation, the driver remained haughty, trying to deny his responsibility, pretending not to remember, and twisting the story.
“I could not stop crying and wailing. A few officers came over to say I can simply sue if mediation falls through. The driver immediately kneeled down and bowed.”
Eventually, SuzanneBirds agreed to a settlement of NT$6,000 (US$195). “I thought that a small punishment would teach a big lesson, and they would then treat the issue seriously. The moment I picked up the pen to sign, I fell into their trap.”
SuzanneBirds accused Taichung Bus of manipulating the situation so that though she was under the impression she was settling the case with the driver personally, she gave up the right to hold the company accountable as well by signing the mediation agreement, which listed both the driver and the company as the applicant. She wrote that neither the mediator nor the company explained the mediation details to her, and further accused the mediator of colluding with the company: “The mediator was contacted by the company, no wonder they were speaking to each other so warmly in the beginning.”
“Furthermore, when I contacted the company again today, they did not guarantee they would fire the perpetrating driver, nor guarantee that I will not run into him again while taking the bus in the future,” SuzanneBirds wrote. “The driver used my sympathy for him to help the company shirk legal responsibility; the company did not immediately fire the driver; the mediator failed to highlight or explain the concept of ‘joint.’ Everything was connected, it was all intersubjective.”
Liberty Times reported that Taichung Bus responded to the issue by issuing two major demerits to the driver, saying the driver had already apologized and compensated the victim as well as signed an affidavit letter to promise he would not repeat his actions.
The Taichung City Government Transportation Bureau was cited as saying that it had asked Taichung Bus to provide surveillance camera footage relevant to the incident. It said once it confirms the details of the event, Taichung Bus will be subject to a maximum penalty of NT$30,000 and will have its inspection grade deducted, which will affect the subsidies the company is entitled to in the future.
The Transportation Bureau added that it will provide assistance to members of the public who seek help regarding the incident.
