Charlie Smith
PLAINCLOTHES police officers will patrol buses, in a bid to curb violence, it has been announced.
Policia Local cops in Marbella will secretly ride with passengers amid a reported increase in abuse against drivers.
Special ‘civil control’ agents will aim to keep the peace on Avanza buses, rotating with one another throughout the day.
It comes after three violent incidents have been recorded on Marbella buses in the last month, prompting one driver to take leave.
The first involved a youth in Bello Horizonte, who became violent after a driver spotted him using his girlfriend’s travel card.
When the driver stopped the vehicle to deal with him, the boy hit him with a rock, while another rock damaged the bus.
Another fracas saw a driver punched in the face and his bus doors smashed by two pals in their 30s after he told the men they could not smoke on his bus.
A further incident occurred after five women near the Teatro Goya cinema in Puerto Banus tried to ride the bus with their kids, while eating ice cream.
The driver told them food and drink was not permitted onboard, but the women then became physically and verbally aggressive, breaking a door panel of the bus.
In July the number of bus passengers doubled compared to the same month in 2018.
