Bus firm acts swiftly vs reckless driving

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—A Luzon-based bus company on Wednesday severely reprimanded one of its drivers after a video of his reckless driving and discourteous behavior had gone viral on social media.

Genesis Transport Services Inc. acted on the complaint made by a passenger, Barbie Yves Trinidad, who uploaded the video on Facebook on Dec. 18, marked with an emoji of a nervous smiling face and the caption, “feeling scared.”

Her video drew almost 500,000 views.

Genesis president Rizza Moises said the driver had been put on preventive suspension but she did not name him. “He will definitely be terminated,” she told the Inquirer in a text message.

In her account, Trinidad said she boarded the Genesis bus for Mariveles, Bataan province, somewhere in Paniqui town in Tarlac around 3 p.m. on Dec. 16.

“I normally sleep but this time I could not because the driver kept honking for no reason and always put pressure on the brake. It was obvious he was trying to wake himself up,” she said.

Trinidad said most of the passengers appeared worried but the driver shooed away the bus conductor when he tried to relay the passengers’ concerns.

Near the San Fernando toll exit of the North Luzon Expressway, Trinidad said some passengers could not help but talk to the driver, asking if he was okay and if he could drive all the way to Mariveles. He shouted back and angrily told the passengers to transfer to other buses.

When Trinidad got off in front of the Paskuhan Village in San Fernando, other passengers disembarked, too.

She said she posted the video to call the attention of government agencies, Genesis and other bus companies about the need to ensure the safety of commuters, especially during the Christmas and New Year holidays. —TONETTE OREJAS