Bus drivers are reporting an increase in the number of assaults against them by motorists or passengers. The latest incident, on Sunday, involving a Nigerian driver, was the third such case against the same man.

Donatus Okereke, 28, who lives in Birżebbuġa said the first incident he was involved in happened  in Buġibba when I was slapped in the face by an old man who complained he had been waiting on the bus stop for an hour.

The second time was at the Tarxien traffic lights, when I was violently assaulted by another driver.

On Sunday Mr Okereke was pulling out of a bus stop when a car tried to overtake him. The car got in front and the bus driver was forced to brake suddenly in what he described as an act of provocation. A number of standing passengers fell to the floor.

“The man rushed out of the car and punched me three times in my face through the side window. I was bleeding and had to be treated at the Mosta clinic,” he said.

Another bus driver who preferred to remain anonymous said such incidents were becoming increasingly common.

The most serious cases seemed to occur when passengers were asked to produce their ticket.

“Once I was threatened with a knife simply because I spotted a passenger with an expired ticket,” this driver said, adding his colleagues were frustrated at being left alone to face such awkward situations.