A woman who was assaulted on a public bus in Austin is speaking up about her ordeal while criticizing the bus driver for failing to intervene. On April 30, the resident boarded the 350 bus at Airport Blvd at about 8:15 am. Unfortunately, the ride turned into a nightmare for the woman as another passenger violently attacked her.
The victim took to Reddit to detail the abuse and create awareness about safety on public transportation. She posted CCTV footage from the metro displaying the incident. As seen in the clip, the woman was attacked moments after she took her seat on the bus.
The attacker ran up to the passenger and slammed her head against the window, knocking her helmet off before getting off. In the accompanying caption, the victim explained that her assailant appeared to be “under the influence of something.” Bystanders reported that the man was seen talking and yelling at himself before the woman boarded the bus.
The Austin resident complained about the driver doing nothing about the situation. She wrote, “The bus driver did not intervene during the incident, likely unaware of its full extent. However, upon my departure, he apologized, saying, ‘I’m sorry that happened to you.’”
While the woman acknowledged the driver’s sympathy, she lamented that the situation would be different if he were more attentive. “If the driver had been more attuned to the individual’s aggressive behavior earlier, they could have addressed the situation before it escalated.”
The report gained attention from Redditors who sympathized with the passenger and pointed out the driver shouldn’t be blamed. One user penned a lengthy explanation about the driver’s duty and proffered a solution to stop similar occurrences.
“I don’t know what the solution here is apart from having a security guard on every bus. It should not be the bus driver’s responsibility to both drive the bus and be security/enforcer for mentally ill and violent passengers that get on,” the comment read.
A second observer added, “Bus drivers are not security personnel. We had a bus driver killed in Seattle when he got involved with ejecting an unruly passenger.” Another netizen echoed the same sentiment, writing, “They’re busy drivers, not security guards.”
Violent incidents on the CapMetro in Austin are alarmingly becoming frequent. Last week, KVUE reported that a man was stabbed to death in a bus near Barton Springs. The suspect who was arrested and charged with murder said he attacked the victim because he resembled his uncle.
These incidents call for quick action from the authorities to ensure commuters’ safety.
