Israeli attacks bus driver after ‘bumpy ride’ woke him up
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFPublished: JANUARY 31, 2024 06:26Electra Afikim's lineup of electric buses; Israel's first wireless charging electric bus depot.(photo credit: Alexey Izmalkov)
Multiple instances of assaults against bus drivers have been reported in recent years – a concerning trend as bus accidents have the capacity to injure many people.
An Israeli resident physically attacked the driver of a bus he was riding on after he complained his bus trip was turbulent and he was not able to get any sleep during the ride, Israeli Police announced on Tuesday.
The attack, which Israeli Police say occurred in mid-January, saw the assailant attack, spit, and threaten the bus driver while putting his upper body into the partition that separates the driver from the passengers.
The attacker was arrested by the Jerusalem district police and an indictment was filed against him upon completion of an investigation. The bus driver did not require medical attention after the attack.
A PASSENGER’S photo of the bus in which he was traveling; the bus swerved off the road, possibly trying to avoid a car, at Nachshon junction near Latrun, injuring some 20 passengers, in March. (credit: David Picard)Bus drivers under assault
Multiple instances of assaults against bus drivers have been reported in recent years – a concerning trend as bus accidents have the capacity to injure many people.Advertisement
For example, a 54-year-old bus driver was attacked by two youths in 2021 after telling them to put on a mask, which was per pandemic regulations at the time, and a 16-year-old boy from Bnei Brak was detained in December 2022 after attacking a bus driver with pepper spray.
A driver of "Metropolitan" bus 388 from Be'er Sheva to Arad was attacked in September 2023 by a passenger who pulled a gun on him with threats and hurled racist slurs at him after a confrontation that developed between the two.
“The police take seriously acts of bullying and violence in the public space, especially violence directed at public servants and bus drivers. We will continue to act against violence on the roads, and violent lawbreakers who attack bus drivers who provide service to the traveling public,” the Israeli Police said in a statement.
