NYC bus drivers plead for protection from assaults
Fare increases. Route cuts. General frustration over life. In New York City, there is no shortage of reasons why bus drivers are targeted for assault — an average of 88 attacks every year in the nation’s largest bus system.
Jose Rondon’s 27-year career as a driver came to an abrupt end last summer at a stop in the Bronx, when a man punched him repeatedly without warning, breaking his nose and bloodying his face.
“He managed to pretty much pummel me,” Rondon said. “No driver deserves that — no driver.”