Yahoo News National Express driver facing the sack after pulling passenger off bus by her legs
This is the shocking moment an irate National Express bus driver attempted to drag a female passenger from his coach by her legs.
The unnamed driver was filmed manhandling the woman from his vehicle – despite her having a valid ticket.
The incident took place as the woman, who spoke in French and was in her 30s, was attempting to board the number 310 from Nottingham to Poole at around 10am on Wednesday 14th February.
Saul Morgan, 37, captured the altercation on his phone while waiting for a bus to London.
The photographer from Carlton, Nottingham, said the lady arrived with a pushbike wrapped up in a couple of black bin liners.
As she loaded her bike onto the bus, the driver came “charging” at her shouting that she couldn’t put it there until she’d shown her ticket.
Saul said: “She pulled her phone out and there was a delay in her pulling up her ticket. He wouldn’t wait for her, he said, ‘you haven’t got a ticket, get your bike off, I’m going, I haven’t got time for this.’
“He pulled her bike off and threw it on the kerb, he walked off to the front and she followed him saying, ‘I’ve got a ticket.’ He wouldn’t look at it.
“He got on and tried to shut the door on her about four times.
“On the last one it opened fully and she threw herself on the floor in the stairwell. He grabbed her foot and was dragging her off.
Saul added: “There was two guys and a woman stood next to me, they went over to confront him. He had a crowd of people stood round and we said ‘we all have e-tickets’.”
This caused the driver to backtrack, Saul said: “He put her bike on [but] he was still laying into her saying, ‘next time print your ticket.’
“She was in bits, she was absolutely distraught. I can still hear the screams now. It was absolutely awful, so unnecessary. It just spiralled out of all control. It was absolutely shocking.”
After fast-thinking onlookers called the company’s head office, and the driver was replaced when the coach pulled over in Birmingham.
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Saul says National Express dealt with the situation “amazingly.
“I said my main concern is that the woman has been assaulted and is having to go on a bus with him down to Poole. It was so out of order. All he wanted to do was get on his bus and drive off and leave her and she absolutely fought.
“Before I filmed he had pushed her away so she couldn’t get her hand in when he tried to close the door three or four times.
“He came across he was trying to intimidate her. She had a helmet on throughout the whole thing which is probably a blessing.”
A National Express spokesman said: “We apologise for the actions of our driver, which clearly fell far below the professional standards expected of all our staff.
“The driver involved has been removed from service and suspended pending an urgent investigation. We have spoken to and apologised to the customer involved.”
