It's sad - I've seen many a bus driver get spat at - and verbally as well as physically assaulted - so it doesn't surprise me. They are trained to not accept "verbal abuse" - and as a result many are very, very sensitive - e.g. I remember not long ago when some lady got on 79 bus and muttered something under her breath as she got on - something about how pissed off she was that the bus was late. The driver wanted her to get off "his bus" - and she wouldn't. So he got out of his perspex cabin and went back to confront her - with the aim of getting her off the bus. The standoff lasted several minutes - and all the other passengers were getting really annoyed - and some were even urging her to get off. But she didn't. So - driver goes back to cabin - and gets a thick wad of compensation forms - turns off engine, takes keys out of ignition and starts handing out the forms to everyone - after which he gets off the bus and goes home. The entire busload of passengers were dumbfounded - and obviously frustrated - and many started mobbing around and verbally abusing the lady who supposedly started it all. The moral of the story is don't mess with a bus driver - he's there to get you home. The moral of your story could be: don't mess with a bus driver.