"Why are you looking at me with those beady eyes?"

With this paranoid outburst, the "extremely angry" man charged up from the back of the bus, leaned around the mesh dividing screen and punched bus driver Sandra* in the face.

Melbourne bus drivers want better security screens to protect them from violent passengers. Credit:Chris Hopkins

It was about 11.15pm on October 12, a Wednesday night, when Sandra, 57, was assaulted while driving through Eltham on route 902.

According to her police statement, made two hours after the attack, the passenger kept hitting her while she "gunned it to Eltham train station" for help, and also mocked her by mimicking her cry to "please stop punching me". At Eltham station, he fled when she opened the doors and blasted the bus horn to attract the attention of PSOs.