Bus drivers in New South Wales say they are facing daily abuse from passengers because of unrealistic public transport timetables.

A meeting of 40 bus drivers working for private companies gathered at the Parramatta bus interchange to call on passengers to blame the NSW Government, not them, for late buses.

They are part of an anti-assault campaign, titled Don't Blame the Bus Driver, launched by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to urge angry passengers to ring the State Government's Transport Information line to make a complaint rather than abusing drivers.

It follows a recent industry survey of 300 bus drivers by the TWU that found 78 per cent had been abused by passengers because of timetable frustrations, 33 per cent spat on and 32 per cent assaulted.

"Bus drivers are sick of getting physically attacked or abused for things they can't control," said TWU assistant secretary Richard Olsen.

"These guys are getting abused on a daily basis and we can't stand for that any longer," Mr Olsen said.

He said frustrated passengers needed to direct their complaints to the NSW Government for buses running late.

"This is not the fault of the bus drivers," he said.

"It is the result of unrealistic timeframes being set up through unrealistic competitive tendering by the State Government in 2012."

Nimrod Nyols, bus industry official for the TWU, said bus drivers were seen as the representatives of bus companies and as a result became the prime targets of passenger frustration.

"You might start a trip and by the end of that trip you will be half an hour late," Mr Nyols said.

"Every single passenger that gets on that bus, they don't know why that bus is late, they see the face of that service which is the driver and they will take that frustration out on the driver," he said.

Mr Nyols said drivers were under increasing pressure to meet tight timetables.

"In an area on a trip they (bus drivers) might usually be doing 45-50 kilometres in a 60 zone, they might now be pushing 55-60 wherever they can," he said.

"The natural response of the driver is to push themselves to make sure they can meet that timetable that's been given to them by the company."

"These pressures are endangering the lives of the public."

Bus drivers report racial, personal attacks

One of the victims of abuse, Barry Hupton, drove a bus around the Penrith-Mt Druitt route.

"I've been abused, spat on, I've been threatened," Mr Hupton said.

"I don't feel safe at all. You don't know what's going to happen," he said.

Bus driver Barry Hupton says he has been spat on and abused by angry passengers over delays. ( ABC: Mohamed Taha )

In his 16 years of driving buses, Mr Hupton said it was one of the worst times to be a driver because timetables were unrealistic.

"The times are unachievable, we just can't get these times so we've got to run late," he said.

"The only way you get around not running late is to speed, but we try not to speed."

Bankstown route driver Suresh Chand said in his 14 years of driving, the abuse had increased since the new timetables were introduced.

"Racial abuse, abusive language, swearing, spitting, you name it, we cop it," Mr Chand said.

"The timetable is very tight and we just have to go, go, go," he said.

He said a recent racial attack had left him traumatised.

"I stopped to pick up a bloke and he abused my wife, my mum, me, my race, my colour," he said.

"I was stressed, I couldn't drive, I had to get the coppers.

"We find it extremely hard and sometimes very dangerous."

Drivers need to report timetable woes: industry

Darryl Mellish, executive director of Bus NSW, the peak industry organisation, said anti-social behaviour and abuse was a major concern for the bus industry.

"It's unacceptable. If there is anti-social that manifests on a bus, report it, let's hear about it so we can deal with it," Mr Mellish said.

"Drugs and alcohol can be a problem for passengers that are intoxicated.

"We'd like the courts to take fairly strong action if they do find offenders that assault drivers."

Mr Mellish said the State Government had a consultative process for drivers who found a timetable too difficult to meet.

"The Government sets the coverage and frequency of bus services," Mr Mellish said.

"There is a consultative mechanism because we must not have drivers breaking the law.

"We want them to be comfortable and not stressed to deal with the problem."

He said drivers needed to report timetables that they felt were not realistic.

"If a timetable is too tight or there isn't enough time for the driver to prepare for the trip then there's a consultative process so that gets adjusted," he said.

"I appreciate the frustration of the drivers but they should bear with the need to report if the running time is too short or they need more turnaround."