Perth bus driver stood down after TikTok video shows him yelling at school kids

A bus driver in Perth’s north-east who was filmed swearing at a group of school children, before getting out of the bus and apparently pushing one of them in the chest, has been stood down pending an investigation.

Multiple videos of the incident were uploaded to TikTok by several people who witnessed it on the 955 bus route from Ellenbrook to Morley on Wednesday afternoon.

The incident was filmed and uploaded to TikTok by various people on the bus. Credit: TikTok

In the video the driver says: “If you’re pressing the bell and you’re not getting off, I’ll be f---ing throwing you off.”

Then as students get off the bus, one criticising his driving by saying “who f---ing drives that way,” he can be heard replying “shut your f---ing mouth, I’ll punch the shit out of you, OK?”

He then gets out of the driver’s seat and off the bus to confront one of the students. There is a heated exchange before the driver shoves the student in the chest.

The students still on the bus start yelling and when the driver gets back on the bus he says: “shut up, up the back. You come on the bus, you sit down and you shut up. Behave yourself.”

The noise from students starts up again, with one saying, “he pushed that kid”. The driver repeats himself several more times throughout the video, which lasts almost three minutes.

A Public Transport Authority spokesperson said they were aware of the incident and were working with the operator to investigate.

“The driver has been stood down pending the result of the investigation,” they said.

It is unclear from the video what sparked the outburst, but the students can be heard yelling from the start of the video, some telling others to “calm down”.

Transport Workers Union WA state secretary Tim Dawson said it should not be a part of a bus drivers’ role to control the unruly behaviour of school kids.

“The Union does not condone the actions of the driver, but it was clear in the vision that he was pushed to his limit with the abuse and anti-social behaviour he was receiving,” he said.

“Disappointingly these occurrences happen to our bus drivers on a daily basis and unfortunately, the reason this bus driver may not have called for security in this instance was because there are not enough mobile resources.

“Security don’t have enough power or authority to control a situation and the response times means they often arrive after the altercation.”

Dawson said the Union had been calling on the state government to implement a suite of measures for greater safety and security, to support and protect drivers and prevent situations like the one filmed from happening.

The measures requested include resourcing of mobile security units, improved communication between depots and security support, safety screens for drivers and conflict resolution training.

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