S’pore woman angers internet after viral TikTok rant on bus not stopping for her, regrets not giving ‘full context’

We’re not starting a cult but some followers on Instagram would be nice. Thank you.

TikTok user Bernice (@abercado) took to the platform on May 6 to share her frustration after a bus that she had waited nine minutes for did not stop for her.

Is she wrong?

In her video, Bernice said that she was trying to understand if the following scenario was her fault:

Bernice was sitting at a public bus stop and was waiting for bus service 2 to arrive.

She apparently waited nine minutes when she saw the bus approaching.

As the bus was arriving, she stood up and walked towards the front of the bus stop.

However, the bus drove off and didn’t stop for her.

“Is it my fault that I never put my hand out, because the bus just [drove] away?” she questioned.

@abercado

so done with sg bus culture idk

♬ original sound – bak chor mee 🍜 – bak chor mee 🍜

The video, which has accumulated more than 145,700 views and 1,490 shares to date, attracted the attention of other TikTok users who’ve taken the opportunity to school Bernice on Singapore bus etiquette:

There were also some commenters who expressed derision at Bernice’s apparent lack of knowledge of how public transport worked:

On the other hand, a TikTok user who identified themselves as a bus driver explained the driver’s perspective and why they might not have stopped for her:

Bernice later uploaded a 10-second clip replying to a user who commented “No wave no stop 😂”, saying that she only wanted to rant.

However, she also thanked those who commented and said that she would “try to put her hands up”.

Thought driver didn’t stop on purpose

Bernice put up another update on May 14, in response to the incident making it onto Stomp.

@abercado

tldr: i just thought the driver did it on purpose and wanted to rant, anyways i’ll flag for the bus to stop, but if it happens again, am i allowed another rant?

♬ original sound – bak chor mee 🍜 – bak chor mee 🍜

In her caption, she clarified that she had thought the driver had not stopped for her on purpose and hence wanted to rant.

She admitted that it was her fault for not flagging down the bus, but wanted to explain the situation that day.

Bernice said that when she saw the bus approaching, she had made her way to stand “at the edge of the bus stop”, and “intensely star[ed]” at the bus.

When the bus did not stop for her though, she got “fed up” and decided to rant to her friends, one of whom suggested: “Make a TikTok.”

Which Bernice did.

Her side of the story

Babelfish reached out to Bernice to find out more about her perspective on the issue.

While Bernice said that she was “recovering from the shock since the outburst of traction [and] attention”, she doesn’t regret posting the video.

However, she does regret not giving the full context of the story in one post.

“I believe even if I have flagged in time, the bus wouldn’t make [a] stop for me either way as it was already driving in the other lane, not near the stop. He would not have been able to pivot or slow down which led to why I missed it,” she said.

She said that she “expected it to be more of a less-offensive video that would connect the TikTok folks”, and was not prepared for the ensuing coverage and outrage from the public.

“As long as I keep my job, I’m fine,” she added.

Lastly, Bernice also clarified that the intention of the video was only to rant and “get some views” on her page.

“I have zero intention to [cause] the bus captain to lose his job… or promote hate towards bus drivers,” she said.

Images via abercado/TikTok and heartbernn/Instagram.