In London, a jogger deliberately pushed a woman into the path of a double-decker bus on Putney Bridge on May 5, 2017. The bus driver, Oliver Salbris, reacted quickly and the bus missed the victim's head by inches, and she survived largely unscathed. The jogger continued running across the bridge without looking back, and about 15 minutes later returned in the opposite direction, passing the victim again while she was being assisted.
The suspect was described as a white man in his early to mid-30s, with a stocky build, short brown hair, wearing a grey T-shirt and dark blue shorts. The CCTV footage of the attack was not released until August 2017, three months after the incident. The Metropolitan Police have never given detailed insight into the investigation or the delay in releasing the footage.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson stated that they cannot confirm decision-making from so long ago but it is often the case that officers wish to explore other lines of enquiry before making footage public. In Stockholm, a 51-year-old man emptied a fire extinguisher over a bus driver on an SL bus on Skanstullsbron on December 1 during morning rush hour, blinding the driver and causing him to brake suddenly. A female passenger fell and suffered a concussion, and the bus was full of panicked passengers.
Groups gather at the bus station because they have nowhere to go and nothing to do.
The man was arrested shortly after on Södermalm and is charged with multiple offenses including violence against an official and causing bodily harm, with nine plaintiffs in total. According to Dagens Nyheter, the driver heard the man say 'Now you'll get the bus driver' before the attack. Passengers reported the man behaving strangely, asking odd questions like if someone had tartar.
According to Dagens Nyheter, the man told police he had mental health issues and had tried cocaine for the first time that night, and he attacked the driver because he thought the driver would drive the bus over the bridge railing, claiming he wanted to be a hero and save everyone. In New Zealand, a bus driver was punched in the face by a passenger after confronting her about not paying the fare. The driver received facial injuries but did not require hospital treatment.
Police are working to identify the alleged assailant. Police remind the public that assaults on public transport workers are taken seriously. The driver plans to return to work on Monday after taking two days of sick leave.
The man was 'weird and threatening' and attacked them first, and she stopped using violence when there was no longer a threat.
nz, driver Almoukdad said he will refuse to drive a bus without a protection screen. nz, he described a silent majority of drivers who are really scared of passengers. nz, he said drivers are getting a really big chunk of the violence and it is covered up to not discourage drivers from coming to work.
nz, he called for accelerated deployment of driver protection screens and introduction of transport officers across the bus network. Auckland Transport said 65% of its bus fleet has had screens installed, with 80% planned by June. The 20% not fitted with screens are scheduled for retirement or replacement in the next few years.
Transport officers are already deployed onboard some buses, trains and ferries to address fare evasion and bolster security presence. The issue of community safety and antisocial behaviour extends well beyond public transport. In a separate incident, CCTV caught a bus driver being punched in the head by a passenger on December 17 on Queen St in the CBD.
I will refuse to drive a bus without a protection screen.
The driver retaliated by kicking the passenger in the back. The driver received a formal warning from NZ Bus. nz, Tramways Union boss Gary Froggatt described the company's actions as heavy handed and unfair.
nz, he said drivers needed better training in how to deal with unprovoked attacks. Froggatt is appealing the warning and preparing a personal grievance case on behalf of the driver. NZ Bus condemned the passenger's actions, saying there is no excuse for assaulting its staff.
The passenger used expletives before approaching the driver and punching him hard in the head. The driver received medical attention at hospital after the attack. The driver has been off work on ACC but is preparing to return to work.
There is a silent majority of drivers who are really scared of passengers.
Police have been unable to identify the offender despite obtaining CCTV footage. The complainant does not wish to proceed further with the matter. Police have filed the matter pending any further relevant information.
NZ Bus takes the safety of its drivers, including the prevention of assaults, very seriously. Sexual assaults and harassment on buses and at bus stations have also been reported. Abdinasir Elmi, 26, from Somalia, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court for two counts of sexual assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Elmi allegedly approached a young woman alone on the street in Bournemouth around 10:30 pm on April 22, offered to get her safely to the bus, put her in a headlock, forced her into Bournemouth Gardens, and assaulted her. Elmi was staying at the Roundhouse Hotel in Bournemouth, which houses asylum seekers, and has been training with Bournemouth Athletics Club since October 2024. Elmi previously trained with British gold-medal Olympian Mo Farah in Somalia, according to a report from Bournemouth Athletic Club.
Drivers are getting a really big chunk of the violence and it is covered up to not discourage drivers from coming to work.
The alleged victim phoned her mother hysterically crying after the incident, saying 'Don't shout at me,' before revealing she had been molested. Abdoela Berhan, a 35-year-old Eritrean asylum seeker, assaulted a Subway worker in Bournemouth on November 30, 2024, by spitting and kicking. Berhan was identified when he returned to the same Subway later that day as a Just Eat driver.
Police traced Berhan to a taxpayer-funded hotel in Bournemouth where he lives. Berhan claimed he was assaulted and accused staff of racism, then said he acted in self-defence after seeing CCTV. Berhan was found guilty of assault at a trial held in his absence after he failed to show up.
In Tampere, young women have been harassed on bus line 10, with a man staring, filming, and making threatening comments. Oona, 23, reported that a man filmed her and her sister on the bus, said he had the right to film, claimed he was a better person, and made threatening and sexual comments. Oona and her sister got off the bus early and walked 5 km home, and she has since avoided that bus line at night.
I call for accelerated deployment of driver protection screens and introduction of transport officers across the bus network.
Kati reported that her 12-year-old daughter was subjected to racist slurs at a bus stop by a woman who called a man to 'beat up this foreigner', and the harassers followed her onto the bus. Kati filed a police report and informed the city transport authority and the hobby club; her daughter no longer dares to take the bus alone. Nysse customer manager Riikka Salkonen said there have been more reports of harassment on buses and trams in Tampere recently.
Assaults and anti-social behaviour at bus stations have been a concern in several locations. A man in his 60s is charged after a student from Larvik was seriously injured after being hit by a party bus, according to Østlands-Posten. The incident occurred at Ringdalskogen in Larvik on the night of April 12 last year.
The man is charged with negligently causing significant bodily harm and for not being sufficiently considerate, attentive, and cautious in traffic, which led to the student being hit. The case is scheduled for Vestfold District Court in November, with three days set aside for the main hearing. In Skipton, concerns have been raised about a rise in anti-social behaviour around the bus station, despite the town being named the 'happiest place' to live in the UK in a Rightmove survey.
The company's actions were heavy handed and unfair.
A man in his 60s suffered a head injury after an incident at Skipton bus station, and a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of assault and released on bail. MP Sir Julian Smith has called for greater police presence and permanent CCTV at Skipton bus station. Residents have reported incidents of bus shelters being smashed, bus windows banged on, and a general feeling of being unsafe.
According to BBC News - England, an anonymous shop owner described groups gathering at the bus station because they have nowhere to go and nothing to do. Sir Julian Smith said bus drivers have reportedly not wanted to come into the bus station at night. Temporary CCTV was installed over Christmas and New Year, and permanent CCTV is a priority for the town council.
In Australia, a group of girls allegedly assaulted a 12-year-old girl at Mount Druitt bus interchange in western Sydney on a Monday, filmed on mobile video. The victim was punched, kicked, and dragged on the ground, and a male bystander intervened to help her. The victim was taken to hospital by paramedics, and her aunt said the attackers were not known to her and the attack may have stemmed from an earlier incident at Westfield.
Drivers needed better training in how to deal with unprovoked attacks.
A second video allegedly shows the same group assaulting another girl in Lethbridge Park, uploaded to Snapchat with laughing emojis. NSW Police confirmed they were called to Mount Druitt bus interchange around 6:50pm and are investigating, urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. Threats, harassment, and assaults on buses have been reported in Sweden and Finland.
A man in his 30s is suspected of unlawful threats and harassment against two 15-year-old boys after saying threatening things to them and pulling at the clothes of at least one of the boys. The incident occurred on a bus. The police have taken the man into custody under LOB (the Act on the Taking into Custody of Intoxicated Persons).
The boys do not know the suspected man. A caller was on a bus in central Stockholm when a man behaving uncomfortably sat down next to the caller. A bus driver contacted the police and reported being hit by a passenger at Frölunda torg.
The assault was unprovoked and humiliating.
Two women, aged 22 and 23, are on trial in Stockholm District Court for multiple crimes including assault, threats, violence against officials, and theft. The 23-year-old was previously convicted of assault for kicking and headbutting two security guards at T-Centralen in Stockholm in 2023. The 22-year-old has a previous conviction for money laundering.
In September, the women allegedly assaulted a bus driver in Haninge after being confronted for drinking alcohol on the bus, tearing off his glasses and kicking and hitting him. Later the same evening, they allegedly assaulted a middle-aged woman on another bus who asked them to calm down, pulling her hair and hitting her, and also attacked that bus driver. Two months later, they allegedly harassed and assaulted an employee at a fast-food restaurant in central Stockholm.
In February, they allegedly committed aggravated assault on a 79-year-old homeless man on Vasagatan, hitting and kicking him repeatedly, including when he was on the ground. A witness heard someone scream 'aj' and women laughing, then saw the older woman laughing while the younger one stomped on the man's head. The assault was interrupted by security guards, and the 23-year-old told a guard their plan had been to shoplift at Seven Eleven and they encountered the homeless man.
I do not want the case to be used for accusing Swedes of xenophobia or racism.
The younger woman smiled in photos taken at the police station after arrest. According to Dagens Nyheter, the 22-year-old woman described the man as 'weird and threatening' and claimed he attacked them first, and she stopped using violence when there was no longer a threat. The homeless man has been unwilling to participate in the investigation.
Journalist Katja Ståhl recounted an incident from when she was 14, traveling on a bus from Tuusula to Hämeenlinna with a puppy, when a man sat behind her, drank from a bottle of Koskenkorva, exposed himself, and masturbated. The puppy became interested in the smell and later vomited extensively, and Ståhl cleaned it up with whatever fabric she had, fearing the driver would demand compensation. Ståhl exited the bus without contacting the driver, and her clothes and belongings were covered in vomit.
Bus driver misconduct and passenger assaults have also occurred. An asylum seeker from Syria was assaulted by a bus driver in Sweden after the driver closed the door on him. The driver got up and attempted to take a picture of Muhammed, who covered his face.
Another passenger filmed the incident showing the driver pulling on the man's clothes, kicking him and repeatedly hitting him on the back of the head. The driver said 'I hate you damn swines' during the assault. Muhammed sought hospital care on Tuesday evening.
se, Muhammed described the assault as unprovoked and humiliating. se, he said he does not want the case to be used for accusing Swedes of xenophobia or racism. The bus company Nobina removed the driver from service and launched an internal investigation.
Nobina said the incident is unacceptable and they will attempt to contact the passenger to apologize. The bus driver also filed a report for violence against an official. In Seattle, a man was arrested for punching a Sound Transit bus driver in downtown Seattle late Monday night.
The driver refused entry to a 25-year-old man after recognizing him from previous incidents on other buses. The driver activated the barrier to block the suspect from entering. The suspect punched the driver in the face, walked off, then got back on and punched him again.
A Real Time Crime Center analyst reviewed surveillance video and captured the assault, sending images to police. Police identified and arrested the man near Third Ave and Columbia St. The suspect was arrested for third-degree assault and booked into King County Jail.
Verbal abuse and safety concerns on public transport have also been highlighted. At Stratford Bus Station, a TfL employee told an elderly woman 'You're not using your brain' and called her a fool while giving directions. A female barber intervened, confronting the employee and recording the incident, and the employee eventually apologized.
The barber posted the video on social media, tagging TfL and Stagecoach, and it received 30,000 views and supportive comments. TfL noted the staff member was sub-co.