A woman has told how an elderly bus passenger reduced her to tears after attempting to forcibly remove her from her seat - despite the rest of the bus being empty.
As she explained in a post to Reddit's Autistic Pride forum, the younger passenger suffers from travel sickness, so she sat in one of the front seats to alleviate her symptoms.
Unfortunately, another passenger believed she was entitled to the same seat.
The older lady is said to have refused to take any other spot in the empty vehicle and became volatile.
Explaining what happened, the anonymous younger passenger wrote: "As soon as I sat down an old lady grabbed me by the arm (strong enough that it hurts).
"She wanted my spot even though the whole bus was empty but she blocked the entrance to the bus and insisted I give up my spot."
The woman added: "I ended up moving because I didn't want to cause more of a scene than it already was but I'm still in shock. I REALLY HATE being touched and this old lady not only laid her hands on me but also put me in such an uncomfortable position because had I said no I feel like people would have been angry at me."
As a result, the passenger claims she spent the rest of her trip seated in the back of the bus feeling 'motion sick but also just so scared and angry.'
The passenger explained she does not like to be touched, and she said she was still in tears and in need of support at the time of writing.
Fortunately, commenters attempted to offer words of comfort to the woman.
"Nobody should ever, under any circumstances whatsoever, grab you like that and get away with it, ever, full stop. Hope you're feeling a little less motion sick," one person replied
A second said: "How much of a f*****g Karen do you have to be in order to specifically want the ONLY seat that's occupied in an EMPTY bus and to fight someone for it?"
Someone else advised: "Tell them you have a disability and require a certain seat. Honestly, old people are so entitled," but the passenger clarified: "I literally told her I get motion sick and she kept pulling my arm and giving me a creepy look."
And one person suggested: "I think the lady wanted your spot because it's a spot for the elderly and those who can’t move properly, those types of seats are usually near bus doors, including the front. They get special priority to those seats," but she explained: "I know these seats and this one is not it as it has a high step. There are several seats for the elderly with a ramp and a special stop button right behind it."
Meanwhile, another wrote: "That was assault. You were assaulted and bullied. You have every reason to be upset. That's not upsetting just because you are sensitive to being touched, that is universally considered assault. Strangers are not allowed to touch strangers. No one is allowed to touch anybody aggressively. I'm so sorry that this happened."
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