An MTA bus driver was arrested in Brooklyn yesterday for punching a passenger who spit in his face twice, authorities said.
The altercation began when Alexander Rudolph, 23, boarded the Q35 with a faulty MetroCard, cops said.
Rudolph, a Brooklyn resident, asked to ride for free, but driver Robert Volkens, 42, refused.
They began arguing, until another passenger used his card to pay Rudolph’s fare.
As Rudolph was exiting the bus on Nostrand Avenue near Avenue H, he spit in the driver’s face twice, cops said.
An enraged Volkens followed him off the bus and punched him, cops said.
He was charged with misdemeanor assault.
The victim was treated for minor injuries, cops said.
Spitting on someone is a violation and can lead to harassment charges, but cops must witness the icky act in order to make an arrest.