News Bus operator disciplined for ordering passenger off vehicle

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.

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