Covid-19 coronavirus: Rome's bus drivers get martial arts training to deal with abuse

People wear masks in Codogno, near Lodi, Northern Italy. Photo / AP file

They are hot, crowded and have an alarming propensity for bursting into flames, but conditions on buses in Rome have become even more challenging.

Bus drivers are being abused so much they are being given martial arts training.

The capital's drivers say they are being increasingly assaulted, verbally and physically, for trying to enforce anti-coronavirus regulations, including the wearing of face masks and social distancing between passengers.

There have been more than 40 violent incidents on the city's public bus network in the past month.

In an incident yesterday, a 25-year-old man pulled out a knife after being told to keep his distance from passengers. The police were called and he was arrested.

Some drivers are now taking matters into their own hands, signing up for lessons in Thai kick boxing and even Krav Maga, a martial arts fighting style developed by the Israeli armed forces, which is a combination of boxing, aikido, judo and karate.

"I'm not teaching them to start a fight. We tell all our students that they should only react if they are attacked," Ennio Della Bianca, 50, a Muay Thai boxing instructor, told Il Messaggero newspaper.

"But we offer a course that gives them all the means, if necessary, to defend themselves," he added.

Drivers on Rome's underground trains are also taking part in the training programme.

"We are less exposed than bus drivers, because we sit in closed cabins, but there are still risks," one driver said.