Bus Driver Bit, Spat On And Attacked By Passenger In Rabat ‘After Refusing To Let Him Off Early’
A bus driver was attacked, spat on and even bitten by a passenger while driving in Rabat yesterday, allegedly because he refused to let him off the vehicle before the next bus stop.
The driver told Lovin Malta that the passenger had rung the bell right after he had driven past a bus stop at around 5pm and asked him to let him off the vehicle. However, the driver told him to wait until the next bus stop.
“He started shouting at me and swearing in Maltese and he spat twice at me,” the driver, who hails from Pakistan, said. “When I reached the next bus stop, he got off and started hitting and kicking the bus.”
“I got off the bus to try and stop him but he attacked me and bit me and I fell down the road.”
A medical certificate seen by Lovin Malta shows the driver had suffered abrasions to the right knee, right forearm and left arm, curved superficial lacerations and contusions over the right forearm, and tenderness over the back of the neck.
The driver later also filed a police report.
“There’s a lack of safety protocols for bus drivers and this is the third incident in a week of drivers getting attacked by passengers,” he said. “I think [Malta Public Transport] should try to stop this abuse by passengers.”
A spokesperson for Malta Public Transport confirmed that the company is investigating the case and has downloaded CCTV footage from the bus to assist them.
“We take these cases very seriously and condemn all sorts of violence, whether it’s on our drivers or our passengers,” she said.
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