Bus driver calls hostage situation over invalid ticket

Operator apologises for driver’s poor judgement

Passengers on a busy 5A bus on Wednesday would have been forgiven for thinking they had been caught up in the filming of a Danish remake of the 1994 Keanu Reeves blockbuster ‘Speed’. The words “POLICE HELP POLICE” appeared on the side of the bus as the driver announced to the passengers that they had been taken hostage.

The episode began when 21-year-old Fady Allan boarded the bus seconds before his SMS ticket confirmation was received on his phone – not before, as the rules require. The driver told him to disembark, which Allan refused to do. “I thought it was a bad attempt at humour and laughed,” Allan said.

“But when the bus was switched off I understood his seriousness and told him that I wouldn’t get off the bus because I had a ticket.”

Poor judgement
It was at this point that the driver refused to drive any further and declared the hostage situation. There was confusion aboard the vehicle before the majority of passengers decided to instead switch to another bus that had pulled up behind. They then saw the distress signal that the driver had displayed.

Movia has publicly apologised to Allan and the other passengers affected. “It’s obvious that the driver in this case has shown poor judgement, which has given the customer and the other passengers a bad experience, and we’re deeply sorry for that!”

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