Video shows the moment a passenger confronted a CATS driver in Charlotte before he started throwing punches.
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What started as a normal bus ride quickly took a violent turn. No one was seriously hurt, but part of the disruption occurred while the bus was in motion.
Bus 2140 was headed down Park Road when, video shows, the bus driver was approached by a belligerent passenger.
"Let me out. Let me out right now," the passenger said.
"I can't pull over. I can't pull over," the driver said.
Policy says drivers are only allowed to go to scheduled stops. That, apparently, made the passenger even more agitated, and things got physical.
"Let me off this bus. Let me off, boy. Let off this bus. Let me off this bus. Open this door. Open the door," the passenger said.
At this point, the driver called dispatch for help.
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"He hit me many times on the bus, and he's on the bus. I locked the door," the driver said.
At that point, some operators said, they would have let the passenger off for the safety of everyone.
"No, you have to wait until security comes," the drive said.
It's at that point that some passengers encourage the driver to defend himself.
"The bus driver needs to fight back. Open this door," one passenger said.
At a certain point, the operator takes that advice. The operator was clearly winning the fight, but took pity on the passenger.
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"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you, because you are a passenger," the driver said.
At that point, the man decided to walk to the back of the bus, even though the passengers were cheering on the driver.
It is not clear whether the driver is facing any disciplinary action.
This was not the first violent incident on a CATS bus in recent months.
CATS promised to step up security in the past. They switched security companies, and so there has been a marked improvement at the transit center.
More officers have been hired, and some busses have additional personal riding to help with customer service. But the one thing the drivers didn't get was bulletproof shields.