BOSTON — It was near midnight in 2017 when York Makonnen, an MBTA employee, was stabbed twice in the neck by a passenger on her bus.
Other passengers sprang into action, saving her life. The injuries cost Makonnen her job, however.
Gov. Maura Healey on Dec. 3 added transit workers to the list of employees covered under a state law that imposes stricter penalties for assault and battery on public employees. The law includes employees of private transportation companies, like Peter Pan in Springfield and Keolis in Boston.
The law cracks down on offenders, protecting drivers, operators, contractors and other employees who have been physically or verbally abused, including the use of any bodily substance like saliva or urine…