Updated 8pm

A bus driver was assaulted and insulted in full view of other passengers on a Valletta-bound bus on Friday morning. 

It was third case of abuse towards bus drivers reported just this week.

Footage shared on social media showed a male passenger yelling at the driver to open the bus door, while the bus was moving. The incident happened at 11am on Friday on Route 81 heading towards Valletta. 

In the video, which was filmed by another passenger, the man can be heard  swearing and insulting the driver in Maltese. He also makes derogatory comments about the driver being "Indian". 

When the driver says he will call the police, the man turns aggressive and bangs a perspex divider intended to protect bus drivers.  

"If you call the police, I [will] kill you," he can be heard saying at one point. 

The footage shows the man reaching out to hit the driver on multiple occasions. 

All the while, the bus is moving and other passengers sit without moving or intervening.  

In separate footage posted to social media, the passenger could be heard arguing that he wanted the driver to stop the bus because he had spotted a €50 note on the ground.

Malta Public Transport told Times of Malta it condemned the assault and said a police report has been filed about the incident.

It has been a tough week for MPT's drivers. 

On Thursday, about 80 passengers on a packed bus had to disembark in Msida after a man wearing safety boots kicked and shattered the glass door because the bus was too full to allow him aboard. 

And on Wednesday, a bus driver was slammed on social media for "blocking an ambulance" when in reality he had no choice, because there was a concrete truck in front of him.