Mr. Ma with facial injuries. Photo by journalist Peiqiang.
[Swift Handling] The driver and the conductor have been suspended.
"The argument was started because of me, I couldn't just stand by," Mr. Ma said, so he went forward again to reason with the conductor. Afterwards, Mr. Ma wanted to take down the ticket seller's badge number in order to report her, but after multiple attempts at "removing the badge," all were dodged by the ticket seller. For about a minute, the two remained at an impasse, then the ticket seller began calling people.
Not long after Mr. Ma sat down, a middle-aged man sitting in the front row said a few words to the ticket seller about the earlier argument. Unexpectedly, this reignited the ticket seller's anger, and she started arguing with the middle-aged man.
Mr. Ma stated that throughout the process, he did not physically confront the ticket seller. However, Mr. Xu, a passenger sitting nearby, told the reporter that he saw Mr. Ma grab the ticket seller's hair during the struggle for the badge. Regarding this, Mr. Ma said he didn't grab the ticket seller's hair; it might have been that when he was struggling for the badge, the badge rope got caught in the ticket seller's hair.
Captain Wang of the No. 50 bus fleet from the Fourth Passenger Transport Company of Lanzhou Bus Group told the reporter that after the incident occurred, the company took it very seriously. That day, the bus driver and the ticket seller were immediately suspended and required to conduct profound self-examinations, with their monthly allowances canceled. At the same time, the two would relearn the relevant rules and regulations of the group company and take an exam. After passing the exam, they would undergo further training. The company will handle the situation based on the attitude of the two towards this incident.
Just as the bus reached near Cuijiayuan in Qilihe, a rapidly approaching taxi blocked the bus. Three men around 30 years old got out of the taxi and boarded the bus through both front and rear doors. Two of them directly approached Mr. Ma and started beating him.
[Three Men] Beating passengers on the bus
At around 6:40 AM on November 8, Mr. Ma from Xigu District, like usual, came to Street Eleven to take the No. 50 bus. Just as he got on the bus and hadn't yet stabilized his footing, a female ticket seller asked him to buy a ticket. Mr. Ma replied, "Can I buy the ticket after I stabilize?" At this moment, the ticket seller very harshly told him, "The bus needs to quickly head west to Xiguan, buy your ticket fast." This led to a few sentences of argument between the two. Under the persuasion of other passengers, Mr. Ma bought the ticket and sat at the back of the bus.
At around 7:20 AM, Mr. Ma reported the incident to the Traffic Public Security Branch of the Lanzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau. The responding police officer instructed Mr. Ma to tell the bus driver to stop and wait for handling, but the driver ignored it. Subsequently, the police arrived at Xiguan Crossroads for investigation and escorted Mr. Ma to the Xigu Traffic Public Security Police Station for questioning.
Journalist Zhang Zhihua Lu Xiaole
At around 7:00 AM on November 8, while riding the No. 50 bus from Street Eleven in Xigu District to Xiguan Crossroads, Mr. Ma had a verbal altercation with the ticket seller over the ticket purchase matter. Subsequently, tensions escalated, and the conductor actually called three men who physically assaulted Mr. Ma. Currently, the involved conductor and driver have both been suspended.
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[Buying Tickets Late] Verbal Altercation Between Conductor and Passenger
At around 5:00 PM on November 9, when the reporter met Mr. Ma in Xigu, his left eye still showed obvious bruising. Mr. Ma told the reporter that on the afternoon of the 8th, the Xigu Traffic Public Security Police Station had dealt with the incident where he was beaten and coordinated a settlement of 800 yuan compensation from the parties involved. As for the specific identities of the three men who beat Mr. Ma, Mr. Ma said he doesn't know.