The union representing bus drivers says they are fearing for their lives every day.
It comes after a bus driver was stabbed and seriously injured in the Auckland suburb of Mount Roskill on Saturday night.
Onlookers frantically put their hands up for help after a bus driver was seriously assaulted with a knife just minutes earlier.
"He couldn't say anything - he was just trying to survive that injury," said witness Sumit Agrwall.
A 62-year-old man who was travelling on the bus was arrested at the scene and will appear in court on Monday.
Newshub understands the driver was stabbed on the footpath after a verbal altercation. Witnesses say the driver tried to defend himself using a wooden stick.
"The man was full of blood, all over his chest, his left side. The other guy was beating him, they were fighting," witness Rajeev Pandey said.
On Sunday a trail of blood remains on White Swan Road - a distressing reminder for those who witnessed the horrific ordeal.
"It was a scary moment. We saw someone attacked live," Pandey said.
Agrwall works nearby and looked after the bus driver while they waited for an ambulance. He's only been living in New Zealand for two months.
"That moment just again and again, just picturising in my mind. I've never seen anything like it."
But unions representing bus drivers say the violence isn't new - and it's getting worse.
"Bus drivers are fearing for their lives on a daily basis," said First Union organiser Hayley Courtney. "The severity of these assaults are increasing - it's becoming more frequent."
"They're feeling apprehensive and it's the reason that some drivers leave the job - they don't want to take the risk," added Auckland Tramways Union president Gary Froggatt.
Drivers are told to not engage with agitated passengers. But representatives say more needs to be done to protect their safety.
"Sometimes the company blames the driver, when the driver really didn't ask for this type of thing to happen," Froggatt said.
Because no one should come to work fearing for their life.
