Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
MTA Bus Driver Attacked After Tossing Man And Woman Off Bus
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Sep 6, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
NYPD
By
Sydney Pereira
Published Sep 6, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Police are looking for two suspects who allegedly beat up a bus operator last week in Manhattan—part of a string of recent attacks on transit workers.
Before the August 31st attack about 10:50 p.m., the MTA bus operator told a man and woman to get off an M2 bus for threatening another passenger at East Eighth and Lafayette streets, according to a statement from the NYPD.
The bus operator parked nearby at 51 Astor Place to take a break, where the two suspects walked up to the bus and held the door open, the police department said.
The woman punched the bus driver in the face after the man told her to "beat him up," and then they ran off, police said.
The 35-year-old bus driver was treated at a nearby hospital for minor face, back, and neck injuries, according to police and the MTA.
In a video released by the NYPD early Sunday, the two suspects were seen walking in the area on surveillance video. The woman was recorded lugging a large suitcase and backpack while following the man, seen in a white T-shirt and jeans with a black cap. Police were still searching for the duo as of Sunday afternoon, an NYPD spokesperson said.
The operator was among three transit workers attacked over a 24-hour period last week, according to the MTA.
About 8 a.m. September 1st, a train conductor was shoved onto the tracks at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street station in Brooklyn, suffering neck, back, and head injuries, the transit authority said.
The suspect, 55-year-old Kevin Harrison, who police say did not have a home, was arrested two days later for second degree assault and reckless endangerment.
Shortly after that attack, a man at Jamaica Avenue and 132nd Street in Queens punched a bus driver's side window, shattering it, and verbally assaulted the bus operator sitting in the seat. No one was injured, and bus riders were safely discharged from the bus.
An NYPD spokesperson said Sunday afternoon no arrests have been made in the Queens incident.
"Attacking a public servant who is working hard to keep New York moving during this time of uncertainty is heartbreaking, outrageous, and frankly, unfathomable," NYC Transit Interm President Sarah Feinberg said in a statement last week. "We have sounded the alarm on this disturbing trend to the NYPD a number of times. More needs to be done."
Between mid-April and early July, 402 attacks on transit workers occurred, according to a report in THE CITY. There were about 105 more encounters during the same time period in 2019, but that was before the COVID-19 pandemic led to mass ridership drops. Dozens of incidents are related to the coronavirus—like one in which a bus operator was struck in the head after telling a bus rider in Brooklyn to wear a face covering, the news website reported.
Tagged
MTA
nyc transit
assault
bus driver
train operator
Sydney Pereira
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .