Upper West Side MTA bus driver stabbed, during robbery

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A bus driver was assaulted during an apparent robbery on the Upper West Side.

The driver was stabbed at West 66th Street and Freedom Place, near a bus just before 7:30 a.m.

According to the MTA, the driver of an M72 bus was stopped at the bus stop when a male customer attempted to rob him. An altercation ensued, and the bus driver was cut on the arm. He went to Lenox Hill Healthplex for treatment.

There were passengers on the bus at the time. No passengers were injured.

TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen called the job of a bus driver "unbearably dangerous and difficult." "Bus operators are assaulted three times a week on New York City streets," he said. "Where is the outrage from the mayor and New York City Council regarding this plague affecting MTA bus operators?"

The suspect fled the scene. It is unknown if anything was taken.