Jakarta – A group of minivan and bus drivers assaulted Thursday a driver for the free school bus in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

Kennedi, 35, a bus driver for the charity organization Dompet Dhuafa, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after injuries to his head and face.

The attack came the first day the bus began operating. A group of drivers who said the new bus would rob them of income, stopped the bus already carrying many students at about 6:30 a.m.

The drivers forced all the students off the bus and made them get on theirs, free school bus program director Ahmad Juwaini said.

"Kennedi tried to explain to the angry drivers that the bus was operating legally but they did not want to listen and assaulted him," Ahmad said.

The drivers hit the bus with iron bars, breaking all of its windows. Residents in the neighborhood attracted by the noise later came to Kennedi's aid.

Ahmad said Dompet Dhuafa provided two free buses and had tried to chose a route that would not overlap commercial corridors. "We won't back down. We will discuss the problems with the Association of Public Transportation Owners and the city administration," he said.