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Woman accuses SBS Transit bus captain of shaming her over stroller; operator apologises
The mother-of-two said she was angry that the bus captain did not show concern for them after the rear bus door was shut on her stroller.
PHOTO: Athirah Khairwan
PUBLISHED ONJanuary 15, 2026 2:02 PM
BYLim Kewei
A SBS Transit bus captain allegedly made a crass remark when he was confronted by a passenger who believed he did not sufficiently accommodate her open stroller during boarding and alighting.
"Your husband never give [sic] you last night?" he purportedly asked mother-of-two Athirah Khairwan.
The 28-year-old content creator, who took to TikTok to share her upsetting encounter, told AsiaOne she had boarded bus service 145 at about 10.26am on Monday (Jan 12) with her young children in a double stroller.
As she was in the process of wheeling the stroller onto the bus from its rear door, the doors suddenly shut on the stroller with her kids, shocking her and other passengers.
"My baby was panicking but thank God there's no injuries," Athirah said, adding that she had been angry as the bus captain did not check on them or express any concern afterwards.
When they reached Toa Payoh Bus Interchange, Athirah found that the vehicle was stopped some distance away from the kerb, which hindered her from alighting with the "heavy" stroller.
Suspecting that this was done intentionally, she approached the bus captain who purportedly responded by saying, "You tell me what I do [sic]".
Athirah elaborated that the bus captain repeatedly stated he did not know what happened and had walked away when she tried to show him how far he had parked from the kerb.
"I [was] damn pissed," she admitted. The mother continued shouting at the bus captain, who then passed the vulgar comment and "dared" her to lodge a report and complaint against him.
Athirah told AsiaOne that no one had assisted her in exiting the bus with the stroller.
She also clarified that she did not expect the bus captain to help by carrying her stroller, but rather to assist in ensuring passenger safety during boarding, and to park near the kerb for safer alighting.
The mother filed a police report that day. Police confirmed in a reply to AsiaOne that a report was lodged and they are looking into the matter.
Responding to AsiaOne's queries, SBS Transit spokesperson Grace Wu said the operator has looked into the incident and empathises with Athirah for the difficulties faced.
"Our bus captain could have done better. He should have exercised better judgment by parking his bus closer to the kerb at the interchange berth to enable easier alighting for her with the stroller.
"There is also no excuse for his choice of words used which is unbecoming of a bus captain."
Wu apologised to Athirah for the distress and inconvenience caused and said action will be taken against the bus captain — who did not meet the expected service standards — to avoid a repeat of the incident.
She also reminded commuters travelling with strollers to notify bus captains before boarding from the rear, to avoid the rear door closing on them or their stroller after the last passenger has alighted.
"We also would like to remind our commuters to treat our employees with respect by not using profanity which is verbally abusive," said the spokeswoman.
"Together, let's work towards making travelling on public transport a pleasant experience."
In a subsequent video, Athirah shared that she had lodged the police report "to emphasise the seriousness of this issue".
"All of us respect you as a bus captain," she said in response to the statement by SBS Transit.
"But it is our natural instinct to react when we know that our children are in potential danger. Obviously, I got so mad."
Athirah told AsiaOne that she is willing to voice the concerns of parents who use public transport if the authorities organise a dialogue.
"There are a lot of stories like this that we [parents] with strollers face," she said.
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