A dispute over the ticket ended in a fight. An angry man reacted with punches and kicks all his anger on the driver. The bus driver was slightly injured.
“I want to go to St. Pölten and this Wi* won’t take me!” A man who wanted to board bus B01 towards Pinkafeld on the central square in Oberwart on Thursday around 10:30 reacted angrily. The passenger – he seemed drunk – claimed to have a valid ticket on his mobile phone, but the battery was empty and had to be charged first.
Customer did not want to pay
However, a bus driver in regular traffic has no time for that. According to the driver, the customer refused to pay a ticket – and became violent. Then the fists flew. “The man attacked me completely. I had to defend myself,” the bus driver (51) reported later. The scuffle escalated. Two courageous passers-by immediately tried to settle the dispute.
The man could not be calmed down
“The attacker could not be calmed down, he jumped out,” said an eyewitness. “The man was very aggressive. He hit and kicked the bus driver as if he were crazy. He wanted to hit him on the head, insulted him severely and threatened him,” said an observer of the wild scene. The incident attracted everyone’s attention in the busy central square.
“Please, police,” a woman screamed. Children were in shock and crying. “Even two young boys, who apparently spoke to the attacker in his native Arabic, could not stop the fight,” an employee said.
The police arrived quickly and put an end to the brawl. After the investigations, a summary of the facts will be sent to the Eisenstadt public prosecutor’s office. After examining the facts, it will be decided whether to initiate proceedings. “Our bus driver, who was slightly injured, regrets having been involved in such a situation. However, he is not allowed to take a passenger without a documented ticket,” explains Wolfgang Werderits, managing director of the Burgenland transport company.
Bus driver changes route
The driver will initially be deployed to another line. “We will discuss with him and other colleagues how we can best behave in such difficult cases,” Wederits adds. The rejected passenger suffered abrasions on his elbow. A mobile phone video of the scuffle is circulating widely on the internet.
Similar scenes in Vorarlberg
Almost simultaneously, a Romanian (21) appeared before the judge in Vorarlberg who felt provoked by a bus driver in Feldkirch in March and punched him in the face with his fist. The driver refused to accept the customer’s 200 euro note.
The argument escalated when the drunk wanted to get back on the bus a few stops later and the bus driver tried to take a mobile phone photo of him – found guilty of bodily harm and fined 1,040 euros.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
