Cases of disputes between passengers and bus drivers in China saw an increase of 4.8 percent from 2016 to 2017, according to a latest report by the Supreme People's Court.

Chinese courts concluded 223 criminal cases concerning disputes between passengers and bus drivers from 2016 to October 31, 2018, said the report released on Monday.

Passenger-driver disputes recently came under the spotlight after a fight between a driver and a passenger caused a bus to plunge into a river and killed 15 people on board in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on October 28.

According to the report, over 55 percent of the passengers in the cases were guilty of endangering public security.

In addition, nearly 30 percent of passengers involved were found to have grabbed control devices from the drivers.

The report cites "misunderstanding" as one of the major causes behind such incidents. Nearly 60 percent of the disputes were caused by a misunderstanding due to bus fares and location of bus stops.

Around 70 percent of offenders were passengers, and about 20 percent were drivers.

The report points out that in merely 27 percent of the cases the drivers decided not to hit back or make any aggressive or violent contact with the passengers.

After the tragic bus accident in Chongqing, several regions in China have beefed up security measures to prevent passenger-driver disputes. 

In Nanjing City, eastern China's Jiangsu Province authorities have ordered to equip around 8,000 buses with driver protection barriers, People's Daily's official Weibo handle said. 

Reportedly, authorities in eastern China's Anhui Province have announced a cash reward for bus drivers who maintain their claim while dealing with passenger abuse.