Elderly passenger, woman clash over wheelchair bay space on Hougang bus: 'Then where do you want me to sit?'

An elderly passenger and another woman were caught in a heated argument on a public bus after the latter accused the elderly commuter of stepping on her foot during the ride.

A video of the incident, which reportedly occurred near Hougang Polyclinic, was shared on TikTok on Tuesday (Sept 8), showing a woman in a black shirt, arguing with an elderly woman seated in the wheelchair bay.

The younger woman can be heard confronting the elderly passenger, saying, "Isn't this space still not enough?" to which the older woman responded, "How is this enough?"

The younger woman then retorts: "If it's not enough, that's your problem. There's so much space, but you stepped on my foot."

The woman can be heard continuing to argue with the elderly passenger, pointing out that there were other passengers on the bus as onlookers watched.

The elderly passenger then asks, "Then where do you want me to sit?" to which the younger woman replies, "Aren't you already seated? Then why did you purposely step on my foot?"

Bus driver intervenes

As the bus approaches a stop, the bus driver can be seen stepping in to defuse the argument.

However, the dispute resumes, with the woman in black explaining that she had initially been leaning against the wheelchair's backrest before moving towards the centre of the wheelchair bay.

The elderly passenger, dissatisfied with the situation, maintains that there was not enough space for her, insisting: "This is my seat. If I don't sit, I will fall down."

In the comments section, several netizens urged both parties to be more considerate of others in public spaces, while others felt that the younger woman could have simply given way.

"Making way doesn't mean you are the loser. If both (continue to) argue, there will be no end. If you meet with unreasonable or needy people, just shift or change places," one commenter wrote.

"Don't understand why people cannot talk nicely nowadays. Why must (they) shout?" added another.

xingying.koh@asiaone.com

一名老年乘客和另一名女子在公共汽车上发生激烈争吵，起因是后者指责这位老年乘客在乘车过程中踩了她的脚。

据报道，这起事件发生在后港综合诊疗所附近，一段记录该事件的视频于周二（9 月 8 日）在 TikTok 上分享，视频显示一名身穿黑衬衫的女子与一名坐在轮椅停放处的年长妇女发生争执。

可以听到年轻女子质问年长的乘客：“这个空间还不够吗？”年长的女子回答说：“这怎么够呢？”

年轻女子反驳道：“如果这还不够，那是你的问题。空间这么大，你却踩到我的脚了。”

可以听到这名女子继续与那位年长的乘客争论，并指出车上还有其他乘客，旁观者也看着这一切。

那位年长的乘客问道：“那你想让我坐在哪里？”年轻女子回答说：“你不是已经坐下了吗？那你为什么故意踩我的脚？”

公交车司机介入

当公交车接近站点时，可以看到公交车司机介入平息了争吵。

然而，争执再次爆发，身穿黑衣的女子解释说，她最初是靠在轮椅的靠背上，后来才走到轮椅停放区的中央。

这位老年乘客对这种情况很不满意，她坚持说没有足够的空间让她坐下，并说道：“这是我的座位。如果我不坐下，我会摔倒的。”

在评论区，一些网友敦促双方在公共场合更加顾及他人感受，而另一些网友则认为年轻女子本可以简单地让路。

一位评论者写道：“让路并不意味着你就是输家。如果双方继续争论，那就没完没了。如果你遇到不讲理或需要帮助的人，那就换个地方走走。”

“真不明白现在的人为什么不能好好说话，非要大喊大叫？”另一位网友补充道。

邢英.koh@asiaone.com