‘Quite traumatised’: Brisbane bus driver may have permanent ear damage after attack

A Brisbane bus driver suffered facial injuries and possible permanent damage to his ear in a “brutal” attack that was captured on camera, the drivers’ union says.

A 21-year-old man from Sunnybank has been charged over allegations of an assault that occurred on a bus in South Brisbane on Friday night in front of shocked passengers.

Footage that was first published on community Facebook page Brisbane Incident Alerts shows a bus driver trying to remove a man from the bus about 6pm.

Police will allege the passenger responded by repeatedly punching the 46-year-old driver, stopping briefly to leave the bus before returning and punching him in the head.

Rail Tram and Bus Union state secretary Tom Brown described the alleged attack as “brutal” and said the driver had suffered facial injuries and possible permanent damage to his ear.

“He is quite traumatised by the incident and that’s something that might take a while to heal up,” Brown told ABC Radio on Monday morning.

“This was a brutal and sustained assault … some of those punches would have floored [professional boxer] Jeff Horn.

“[He’s] a known trouble-maker on the bus, so he’s not just a danger to the driver, he’s a danger to other passengers.

“Our driver identified him and tried to escort him off the bus, and then obviously it blew up.”

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner took to social media to condemn the alleged assault and called for offenders to be permanently banned from public transport.

The 21-year-old man was arrested at an address in Sunnybank on Sunday night.Credit: Queensland Police Service

“No one deserves to face violence in their workplace, especially from a single individual whose reckless actions endangered the safety of everyone on board,” Schrinner wrote.

“My thoughts are with the bus driver who was subjected to this appalling and completely unacceptable attack while simply doing his job.

“Enough is enough. If you assault a driver, you should lose the right to ride.

“I will be advocating to the state government to ask them to consider ways we can ban repeat offenders from using public transport.”

Brown also supports a ban.

“What the union will do now is call on the transport minister to reconvene the bus safety forum and put this on the agenda and do this as quickly as possible,” he said.

“We need to work out a way to make the ban stick.”

The 21-year-old man was arrested at a property on Station Road in Sunnybank on Sunday evening. He was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and was expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

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