Passengers say they are shocked after they witnessed what they say was an alleged case of racism and intimidation on a Halifax bus Tuesday morning.

Witnesses say the driver blew up at a customer who tried to enter the bus through the back door and shouted racist comments at the man.

Metro Transit says it received three complaints about the alleged incident, two of which came from eyewitnesses Kyle Dorey and Chad Beck, who were horrified by the scene.

The pair say a young couple boarded the bus at the Mumford terminal – the woman entered through the front door, while the man came in through the back door.

Typically bus passengers are required to enter through the front door so they can pay their fare as they board, but because rides are free for the rest of the month due to the bus strike, the man didn't think entering through the back door would be an issue.

But Dorey and Beck say the driver angrily confronted the man, saying these words:

"This is not how we do things. I'm not from effing India. We're not from effing India and this is not how we deal with things in Nova Scotia," describes Dorey of the driver's words.

Dorey and Beck say the passengers reacted angrily to the incident and the driver became defiant, telling them they could get off the bus if they didn't like the way he ran it.

"There was the person in the back who was crying from it because it was bad," says Beck. "He didn't just say it low under his voice, he screamed it for the whole bus to hear."

Metro Transit officials say they are investigating.

"We will talk to the bus operators, we will look at the complaints and we will do an investigation," says city spokesperson Shaune MacKinlay. "We will get back to the complainants with the outcome of that investigation."

Most Halifax buses are equipped with video cameras but Metro Transit wouldn't confirm whether the alleged incident was captured.

The Amalgamated Transit Union declined to comment on the case, but officials say the mistreatment of riders will not be tolerated.

Metro Transit says the complaints filed today are the first to be made since the bus drivers returned to work on Friday, following a six-week-long strike.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw