News Bus operator disciplined for ordering passenger off vehicle

[thomas]

That passenger was a lady on a fixed-route bus in Shizuoka who did not wear a mask. The 66-year-old driver asked her to cooperate through an in-bus announcement, but after she refused to comply, the driver stopped the vehicle and made her get off. This was the first time a District Transport Bureau imposed administrative disciplinary action against a transportation company. It is not known why the passenger refused to wear a mask.

According to sources including the transport bureau, a woman boarded the company's fixed-route bus in the Shizuoka Prefecture city of Izunokuni on April 7 while not wearing a mask. The 66-year-old driver asked her to cooperate through an in-bus announcement, but after she refused to comply, the driver stopped the vehicle and made her get off. Following a complaint by the passenger, the transport bureau conducted a review of the incident. The bureau concluded that the driver's actions were against the law after confirming that the driver lacked a valid reason to refuse the ride and forced the woman to get off before reaching a bus stop. It also determined that the bus operator had not properly instructed the driver to respond to potential incidents over passengers refusing to wear masks. [...] The Road Transportation Act stipulates that drivers cannot refuse a ride except for some cases such as when passengers are heavily drunk or act violently toward the driver, but the law does not have a stipulation about masks.

Japan bus operator punished after passenger ordered off vehicle for not wearing mask - The Mainichi

NAGOYA -- A public bus operator in central Japan was disciplined on Sept. 1 after its driver ordered a passenger who refused to wear a mask to get off

mainichi.jp