In Vicenza, a bus ticket inspector was attacked and beaten by students; his head was forced onto the tarmac

First they provoked the passengers and bus staff by repeatedly pressing the alarm button; then, as a group, they attacked and savagely beat the ticket inspector, who had reprimanded them. All the while, they were surrounded by other teenagers of the same age who were ‘cheering on’ the violent stunt. The incident took place yesterday morning at around 7.35 am, before lessons began, at the Cittadella degli Studi, a school district in Vicenza. The victim was an employee of the local transport company SVT, who was surrounded by around fifteen students and beaten. According to witnesses, the attackers are believed to be aged between 15 and 17 and attend a school in Schio (Vicenza).

During the journey, one of them is said to have repeatedly set off the vehicle’s alarm. The conductor told him to stop, and then, whilst the bus was stopped outside the schools, passengers and staff got off the bus. At that point, one or, more likely, two young men allegedly attacked the conductor; one boy is said to have pushed his head against the tarmac; other students are said to have egged on the attackers. Despite the blows he received, the conductor did not react and got back on his feet, returning to the bus, although he was clearly in shock. The group then moved on.

Another attack had taken place last week at the same bus stop, again targeting SVT staff, who had been subjected to verbal abuse but not physically assaulted. “An unspeakable incident,” commented the chairman, Marco Sandonà, “which I hope will be met with firm and unanimous condemnation from everyone. This was not a prank, but a full-blown assault. Reminding passengers to respect the rules of travel – and, in this specific case, the proper use of emergency equipment – is fundamental to the very functioning of local public transport.” Sandonà announced the company’s support for the employee who was the victim of the attack “to protect him, but also the company and all staff. In such cases, it is important to avoid any form of exploitation, but I think we can all agree that this incident is part of a climate of growing tensions towards local public transport, perhaps exacerbated by what we are seeing happen in Italia and across Europe.”

The Filt Cgil trade union states that “what happened cannot be dismissed as ‘childish behaviour’ or a ‘stunt’. A worker was surrounded, struck and thrown to the ground simply because he was doing his job”. It also calls for “those responsible for this assault to be identified swiftly and for all necessary measures to be taken against them. Finally, we call on SVT, local authorities and the education sector to immediately initiate a dialogue on the safety of train crew and ticket inspectors, to guarantee legal protection for the worker, and to update the Risk Assessment Document to recognise the incident as an accident”.