Public bus operator Transmac issued a statement yesterday about an incident in which a passenger assaulted a bus driver when he was driving on Ponte da Amizade (“Friendship Bridge”) at about 4 p.m. on Sunday. The company “solemnly” condemned the violence and has reported the incident to the police for follow-up investigation.
According to the statement, when a No. 34 bus was being driven across the bridge, a male passenger in his seventies suddenly asked the driver to stop the bus and let him get off to urinate. The driver told him that he could not stop on the bridge. After his request had been refused by the driver, the passenger appeared to be unhappy, the statement. He then walked to the middle door where he urinated into a plastic bag. Afterwards he threw the bag into the driver’s cab. To ensure safety while driving across the bridge, the driver kept calm. Soon afterwards, the passenger punched the driver in the face. Two male passengers rushed to stop the attacker from continuing the assault.
After crossing the bridge, the driver notified the bus company’s operation control centre to report the case to the police. The driver was rushed to the hospital for treatment and went home to recover. The bus was immediately driven to a bus depot where it underwent thorough disinfection and cleaning, the statement underlined.
The statement pointed out that the attacker had endangered the safety of the driver and all the other passengers.
The bus company praised the driver for his calm handling of the incident. The company urged passengers to abide by the law, and under no circumstances should they interfere with the drivers’ work, so as not to affect the safety of everyone on the bus. The company said that it would take legal action against the attacker, the statement said.
