The MTA bus driver who had a gun pulled on him because he didn’t pick up an unhinged passenger told The Post he’s relieved to know the hothead has been busted — but warned that more needs to be done to protect transit workers.

“This guy doesn’t need to be out on the street like that,” Michael Haynes, 55, told The Post from his Harlem apartment. “Someone could die with him out here.”

But, Haynes continued, “They got to do something to help us. People are out of control.”

Haynes was on his morning route on the M11 bus around 7:50 a.m. Friday when he saw Tony Burnett, 28, waving his hands at him asking him to pick him up near West 85th Street and Columbus Avenue, a block from the bus stop.

“I would have stopped for him if he was at the bus stop. 86th Street is the stop I’m supposed to stop at. No one was there,” Haynes explained.

“I continued on to 84th Street because I can’t just stop at every single corner to let people on, we have to stop at bus stops.”

That’s when Burnett, whom police said is a known fare-beater with at least five prior arrests under his belt, jumped in a cab and told the hack to pull in front of the bus and cut him off.

“He gets out and starts cursing, yelling [the] n-word like crazy… in a threatening manner,” Haynes went on.

“Why didn’t you stop for me?” Burnett barked at the driver, according to police.

“You don’t know who you messing with,” Burnett went on, according to Haynes.

It was then Burnett allegedly flashed a .38-caliber revolver at the veteran bus driver, who’s been with the MTA since at least 2008, according to SeeThroughNY.

“He kept pulling it up out of his pants and then lowering it back down,” Haynes said.

“I guess he saw the crowd and decided to take off.”

Haynes continued on to 82nd Street where he saw two female police officers and ran over to them for help.

“They put it over the radio and he got caught… He needed to be arrested,” Haynes said.

“I wanted to do everything I could do to help catch him.”

Despite the terrifying incident, the driver remained stoic about the encounter but did say he was relieved to see a photo of Burnett, captured by The Post, being hauled out of Manhattan’s 20th Precinct in handcuffs.

“Seeing that picture, I feel better about the situation,” he said.