A bus driver who was reported for being racist and aggressive towards an African family has been ordered to explain his actions to the Public Transport Association.

“We want to hear his version of what happened. We also want to find out why the police did not take further action. I’m guessing they had their reasons but we will still look into this because any rule-breaking behaviour is unacceptable,” association president Victor Spiteri said when contacted.

He said the association could not revoke a driver’s licence but had the power to impose hefty penalties on those who broke the code of conduct.

The incident happened on Thursday morning when lawyer Yanika Bugeja, 25, was on her way to Valletta by bus on route 55. She was disgusted by the driver’s treatment of an African immigrant couple who got onto the bus with their child.

Dr Bugeja decided to file a police report, taking along another passenger as a witness and urging the police to take action. The police called her later in the day to say the driver had apologised and she accepted to drop the case as long as he was given a strong warning not to repeat his actions.

According to Dr Bugeja, the driver complained the couple was carrying a pram and that they only had a €5 note with which to pay the fare.

He also ordered the man to give his seat to a Maltese woman who was standing on the bus but she declined the offer. Later, the driver asked the man to move to the back of the bus and, when the vehicle stopped at traffic lights, the driver got hold of the foreigner and pushed towards the back of the bus, angering Dr Bugeja and onlookers. An argument ensued and Dr Bugeja said the driver told her: “These people are trash”. He claimed his father was a police inspector.

Dr Bugeja said she replied saying he was trash, prompting him to stop the bus and report her to a nearby traffic policeman, a scene that was witnessed by The Times.

Dr Bugeja’s action sparked a very supportive reaction online, with most readers applauding her behaviour, urging others to do the same and calling on the police to take action against the driver.

Many came forward with similar experiences of aggressive behaviour, both to immigrants and also to Maltese passengers and tourists.

A person giving the name as R. Mifsud and saying she was the wife of a bus driver, stood up for the driver, saying that “these people drive you crazy”.

“I spend days on the bus with my husband and they are the worst kind. They pretend (sic) not to pay a 35c ticket for their luggage... some stink up the whole bus... Try being a bus driver for a day and see if they have reason for doing such things,” the person said.

Questions sent to the police about the case, in particular, seeking clarification on why no action had been taken against the driver, remained unanswered at the time of writing.

Transport Malta and the Ministry of Transport have also not answered questions by The Times.