Dozens of Metro Vancouver bus drivers showed up in Surrey Provincial Court Friday for the appearance of a man charged with assaulting one of their colleagues.

Sean Quaye, 25, is accused of attacking a driver in late March.

Nearly 40 drivers packed into a Surrey Provincial courtroom to see Quaye make a brief appearance. The accused said nothing and his case was held over for 10 days.

The driver, who was attacked, is still having trouble breathing and has told his colleagues that he gets scared whenever he sees a bus.

Nathan Woods with the bus drivers' union local UNIFOR 111 says the federal government needs to support a change to the criminal code that would make assaulting an on-duty transit driver a more serious crime.

"The courts need to up the ante when it comes to these assaults. It is a community crime. More so than just a bus driver losing teeth or his pride. The community is put at risk," Woods says.