Remember Artis Hughes, the Cleveland area bus driver who was the star of a viral video where he was issuing a helluva punch to the face of a female passenger?

[READ: B*tch Get Off My Bus Girl Speaks! + Bus Driver Explains Uppercut… (VIDEO)]

Well, the punch happy bus driver has officially lost his job due to the unfortunate incident between him and the unruly passenger!

Details below…

The Cleveland Regional Transit Authority posted a VERY PUBLIC notice of his termination earlier today, which states:

Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) has terminated Artis Hughes from his operator position today…

There are certain actions by our employees that are so serious that the employee is subject to immediate discharge. One of those actions is a use of force against a member of the public.

In the Artis Hughes situation, the customer was out of line and charges have been filed against her.

However, while customers may be challenging or difficult to handle, RTA employees are instructed to exercise restraint and to conduct themselves professionally at all times.**

[READ: MUGSHOT MANIA: The ‘Uppercut’ Bus Driver + The Girl Who Took The Punch… ]

RTA goes on to state that they fired the driver because his actions were NOT in self-defense:

Mr. Hughes claims that his actions were in self-defense. The evidence does not support that claim.

We expect our employees to diffuse any potential situation. We do not believe that Mr. Hughes took the proper steps to diffuse this situation.

The proper procedure would have been to pull over and stop the bus, then call Transit Police for assistance.

Employees should take precautions in situations such as this one to protect the safety of other RTA customers and the public. Mr. Hughes did not take the proper precautions, nor did he follow procedure.

For the above reasons, Mr. Hughes has been terminated from RTA. (source)

Welp… I guess he’s going to the unemployment office NIE! *sigh*

Do you think Mr. Hughes deserved to lose his job?