Bus captain was closing window, not flashing "middle finger" at motorist, SMRT clarifies

A bus captain accused of flashing his middle finger at a motorist who refused to give way was simply closing his window, and the action was mistakenly interpreted as a rude gesture, said SMRT. 

In a post on SG Road Vigilante’s Facebook page, a motorist alleged that an SMRT bus captain flashed his headlights and his middle finger at him after he failed to give way near a bus stop outside Ngee Ann City at 12.51pm last Friday (July 27).

A video of the incident was also uploaded. In the video, SMRT bus service 972 is seen on the bus lane. 

The bus captain then attempts to filter into the middle lane which the motorist is in but the motorist does not give way.

As the motorist makes a right turn into Ngee Ann City, the bus driver appears to stretch his right hand out from the window. 

The accompanying caption to the video reads:

“Be prepared to get a birdie and beamed when you fail to give way to an SMRT bus captain.”

In response to a Stomp query,  Ms Margaret Teo, vice-president of Corporate Communications at SMRT, said:

“SMRT strives to provide safe, reliable and pleasant journeys for our commuters, and we take reports of inappropriate conduct by our staff seriously. 

“Our investigation, verified with CCTV footage, found that the bus captain shown in the video did not display inappropriate behaviour. As the bus captain was preparing to filter out from the bus lane, he opened his window and gestured to other vehicles to alert them to give way. 

“The bus captain then closed the window, which may have appeared to the complainant as a rude gesture. The bus captain also gave a ‘thumbs up’ to the driver who gave way to the bus.”