Bus driver fined for letting students stand on full intercity bus
The driver, with 20 years of experience, said she was fully aware that it violated regulations but couldn't bring herself to leave the children stranded.
An intercity bus connecting Gyeonggi and Seoul arrives at a bus stop in central Seoul on Feb. 5, 2024. The bus displays a sign prohibiting standing passengers.YONHAP
A bus driver who made an exception for middle school students on the last run of the night was fined after a passenger reported her for allowing passengers to stand on a full intercity bus.
The Road Traffic Act prohibits standing on buses traveling on expressways and imposes a fine on violations.
A bus driver with 20 years of experience picked up several students who appeared to be in middle school while operating the last bus on the night of a fireworks festival, a current affairs program of JTBC, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, reported on Thursday.
Despite knowing the law, the driver allowed the students to board after they repeatedly asked for a ride because it was late.
“Standing is prohibited because the bus travels on the expressway, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave the young students behind so late at night,” the driver said. “When I let them on, I told them to be careful not to fall.”
However, after the students boarded, a male passenger questioned the driver over allowing standing passengers.
An intercity bus displaying a “Full” sign arrives at a bus stop in Suwon on Nov. 18, 2022.YONHAP
“I know it’s normally not allowed, but it was late and there were a lot of passengers because of the fireworks festival,” the driver said. “The students were so young that I decided to let them on. I asked him to make an exception just this once because it was the last bus and it was so crowded.”
The male passenger did not back down. He reported the driver to police and asked officers to come to the next stop.
“Aren’t children and adults the same when it comes to being passengers?” the man said, recalling a previous occasion when he was denied boarding because a bus was full.
“They wouldn’t let me on when I tried to board before,” he said. “Do you know how much I had to spend on a taxi because I was in a hurry?”
The driver admitted to the violation after police arrived and paid a fine. Several days later, she was notified that an additional complaint had been filed through the government’s online petition portal.
“I fully acknowledge that I broke the rules,” the driver said. “But I felt bad for the students and did my best to make sure other passengers were not inconvenienced.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
