A commuter has opened a case of assault against an Intercape bus driver after he recorded a video of an altercation between the two of them in Bellville, Cape Town.
Dean Layman, 25, said he planned on travelling from Cape Town to Bloemfontein at 17:40 on Saturday for a business meeting, but he claims that he was denied access to the bus.
According to Layman, he started recording the Intercape personnel when they refused to allow him on to the bus or give him a refund.
"I used my phone to record them, but the co-driver struck my arm and face – he punched me, and I was pushed out of the bus," he said.
"I checked in at 17:25 and loaded my luggage while the driver and co-driver were helping other passengers," he said.
"I was still standing with my mother and my girlfriend when the driver shouted at me to get on to the bus as soon as possible. When I got closer to the bus, I remarked that it wasn’t 17:40 yet and then the bus drivers called the coach assistant."
Layman said that the coach assistant arrived and explained that the sooner passengers board the bus, the sooner the bus could leave.
"She started pointing her fingers in my face – this is very disrespectful. I asked her to stop putting her fingers in my face then the bus driver told her not to allow me on the bus," Layman told News24.
The entrepreneur then took out his phone to record the incident when he was allegedly attacked by the co-driver.
When Layman's mother attempted to resolve the issue, he alleges that she was also pushed out of the bus.
"The coach assistant offered to let me take the next bus, but my valuables were still on the bus."
After following the coach assistant to her office, Layman said that he overheard her phone conversation with someone from the Intercape complaints department.
"I asked if I could speak to the person on the phone so that they can hear my side of the story. But the [man] on the phone said: 'You won’t be getting on any bus tonight' and hung up the phone," he said.
Layman said that the incident 'enraged' him.
"I don’t know why they wouldn’t allow me on the bus. I wasn’t rude; I didn’t damage anything on the bus. I’ve been using Intercape buses since I was in primary school, but now their service is pathetic," he said.
After he took to Facebook to complain about his ordeal, a staff member from Intercape said that the company acknowledged the incident and that it was under investigation.
Intercape said in a statement that an inquiry is underway into the alleged assault and could not comment further.
Police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk confirmed that a case of common assault had been opened and was under investigation.
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