"Fell Asleep and Missed It," Cursing... The Hardships of a Express Bus Driver

Demanding an Additional Shipping Fee of 2800 Won Leads to Verbal Abuse and Profanity

A highway bus driver posted on an online community that he was cursed at while informing a passenger who missed their stop about an additional fare, sparking attention.

On the 6th, a post titled "Why does a highway bus driver have to be cursed at?" was uploaded on the online community BobaeDream.

The author, Mr. A, who identified himself as a current highway bus driver, explained the situation, saying, "I was just cursed at by a passenger."

Express bus terminal device for buses going from Seoul Gyeongbu Terminal to Anseong. The number of passengers getting off is displayed at each stop.

At the time, Mr. A was driving a premium highway bus from Seoul to Anseong. According to the terminal, three passengers were supposed to get off at the first stop, Pungnim Apartment, but no one actually got off.

Mr. A called out three times that they had arrived at the Pungnim stop, but no one got off. He said, "From the second stop onward, I properly checked the number of passengers," and added that passengers got off correctly at the subsequent stops.

However, a problem occurred when the bus arrived at the Chung-Ang University stop. When Mr. A asked, "Could the passengers getting off at Chung-Ang University please raise your hands?" the number of hands raised was two more than the number shown on the terminal. Mr. A then checked the passengers' tickets.

He explained, "The three people who were supposed to get off last hesitated," and said the issue was that a young man and two children who appeared to be elementary school students were supposed to get off at the Pungnim stop but did not.

When Mr. A informed the man, "You have already passed the stop where you were supposed to get off. I called out loudly three times," the man replied, "I was dozing off and didn't hear," and said, "Can you hear everything when you're dozing off?" The man also responded, upon hearing about the additional fare, "I'll pay. I said I'll pay. How much is it?"

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Mr. A added, saying the man cursed during the conversation, "What crime did I commit to be cursed at by a passenger who looks at least 20 years younger than me?"

Netizens reacted to the story with comments such as, "The driver is not at fault," and "I'm worried about what the kids will learn."

Meanwhile, according to the highway bus transportation business terms and conditions, if a highway bus user fraudulently uses a ticket, the company may demand an additional fare up to ten times the standard fare for the boarding section from the user.