An irate man punched an MTA driver during a fight on his bus in Lower Manhattan Saturday — after becoming angry about traffic — even pulling a knife on the worker at one point, video obtained by The Post shows.
The melee happened on the M15 bus at the corner of Whitehall Street and South Ferry around 12:15 p.m., the cop said.
The 58-year-old driver can be seen pulling out his attacker’s hair extensions as they brawled.
“Let me go!” the attacker shouts repeatedly. “You’re ripping out my hair.”
“You’re going nowhere,” the driver responds, adding that police were on their way.
The MTA said in a statement the passenger was angry because the bus was stuck in traffic and was “yelling and cursing at the bus operator for not driving faster.”
“It is lunacy for anyone to take out frustration for traffic congestion on a transit employee just trying to drive New Yorkers where they need to go,” Transit Senior Vice President Frank Annicaro said.
The attacker pulled out the blade — but the driver was able to disarm him, the statement said.
Police took the knife-wielding man into custody but charges against him weren’t immediately known, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
The driver was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
The 41-year-old immigrant from Nigeria who shot the video said he felt bad for the driver.
“I think the guy needs to control his anger,” the man who sells Statue of Liberty tickets said. “You don’t need to punch anyone. You could just talk things out. This is a government worker. I felt so bad.”
Police said the motive for the fight was unknown.
Additional reporting by Bill Farrington.
ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3V7j2tmamhforK1vs5oraKclaR6o7HRrJyro12irq95wK2rmpubqHquwMBmm6uhppq%2FbrXNZqSappiWwbWtzWg%3D