SBS Transit to take disciplinary action against bus captain who reversed into woman's car

Transport operator SBS Transit will be taking disciplinary action against a bus captain who was caught on camera reversing into a woman's car, a spokesman told Stomp in response to queries.

Facebook user Clement Goh posted a video of the incident that occurred at the junction of Thomson Road and Whitley Road on Thursday (May 16), at around 8pm.

He wrote: "SBS bus made a wrong turn then reversed into my wife’s car and drove off. There were cars behind and [she] couldn't reverse. Not sure why the bus captain is not familiar with his route."

In the video, bus service 5 can be seen reversing into Mrs Goh's car despite repeated honks from her.

When contacted by Stomp, Mrs Goh said the incident was "traumatising" and left her feeling helpless.

She recounted: "It was a busy road with heavy traffic. I was behind the bus and had signalled to turn into Whitley Road.

"Suddenly, the bus stopped at the junction and started reversing. I stopped and honked and tried to reverse as much as I could while observing the cars behind me.

"The bus paused and started to reverse again. It stopped only after hitting my bumper. I was honking non-stop and cars behind me were all honking repeatedly."

"After hitting my car, the bus went straight instead of turning left and stopped at the traffic light. I came down and tried to get the driver's attention, but he drove off when the traffic light turned green."

According to Mrs Goh, she called SBS Transit's hotline almost immediately after the incident, at around 8.10pm.

She told Stomp: "Unfortunately, it was after service hours and I could only submit an online feedback form.

"I called again the next morning and informed them about the incident. I was told to file an insurance claim and that it would be processed by a different team.

"I was appalled that there was no empathy about my well-being and no mention about road safety.

"They said they would investigate but I have yet to hear from them ever since."

Mrs Goh, whose car was damaged in the incident, said it was "lucky" that she was alone in her car when the incident took place.

"Fortunately, my young kids were not with me," she added.

"While I was not physically hurt, I am mentally stressed.

"What happened was traumatising and made me feel helpless because I was caught between the bus and the string of cars behind, with no place to manoeuvre.

"As bus kept moving back, I felt fearful and worried about the consequences."

Responding to a Stomp query, SBS Transit's senior vice-president of corporate communications Tammy Tan said: "We would like to apologise to the driver for the distress and inconvenience caused and are already in touch with her.

"We do not condone unsafe driving behaviour by our staff and in this case, will be taking disciplinary action against the bus captain concerned."