Bus driver kneels in front of an angry passenger to beg for his forgiveness after 'being scolded for starting the vehicle too quickly' Man in China was enraged after driver 'started the bus before he could sit down' He allegedly told off the driver for three minutes and threatened to complain Footage shows the driver kneeling down and apologising in a desperate manner The transport firm said the driver had not handled the matter 'appropriately' By Tracy You For Mailonline Published: 16:06 BST, 13 June 2019 | Updated: 16:10 BST, 13 June 2019 Viewcomments A video showing a bus driver kneeling in front of a passenger and begging for his forgiveness has sparked controversy on social media. The short clip, filmed in China, shows the transport worker repeatedly apologising to the emotional passenger as another passenger tried to intervene. The driver had been criticised by the angry passenger who accused him of starting the bus too quickly, said the local transport company. Trending footage shows the bus driver bowing repeatedly with his hands together to beg for forgiveness from his passenger who scolded him for starting the bus before he could sit down The video was said to be filmed at around 6am today in the city of Jinan, the capital of eastern China's Shandong Province. An eyewitness told Chinese news outlet The Paper that the middle-aged passenger had scolded the bus driver for two to three minutes before the video was shot. The passenger claimed that the driver had accelerated the stationary bus before he could sit down and that he planned to complain about the driver to his supervisors, the same witnessed added. The incident took place in the city of Jinan, the capital of eastern China's Shandong Province The driver allegedly knelt down when the bus was waiting for a green light and cried: 'If I have a complaint against me, half of my monthly salary will be deducted'. A spokesperson from the Jinan General Transport Company confirmed the authenticity of the footage. The spokesperson told The Paper that the two parties had been quarelling. The company said the driver had not handled the matter 'appropriately' and he had realised his mistakes. The company said they were still investigating the matter and would arrange counselling for the driver to minimise the impact of the event on his future work. Passenger-driver disputes have come under the spotlight in China after a fight between a driver and a commuter caused a bus in Chongqing to plunge into a river last October, killing at least 13 people on board. The tragic accident prompted authorities to impose more severe penalties on offending passengers. Last November, a man in Yinchuan, Ningxia was sentenced to three years and two months in prison for grabbing the steering wheel from the bus driver. In May, a woman in south China was sentenced to four years in prison for slapping a bus driver after he charged her an extra 10p for the fare. Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility