A man has admitted to hurling racist abuse at a stranger and demanding he "talk English, you rude c---" on a Newcastle bus service.
Troy Daniel Skeffington, 54, faced Newcastle Local Court for the first time on Thursday after the unprovoked tirade was captured on video last month.
Skeffington pleaded guilty to using offensive language in public and intimidation with the intent to cause fear.
He was convicted, handed a year-long community correction order, or a good behaviour bond, and ordered to pay a $300 fine.
Judge Georgina Darcy told Skeffington the offences were serious.
"The offensive language is also of concern because it has racist connotations, and this man was just going about his business, had nothing to do with you," she said.
"You did then follow him on and off the bus, and he was trying to leave, but you persisted in attempting to confront him."
The court heard Skeffington only stopped after the bus driver warned he had called the police and the incident was being recorded.
Legal Aid solicitor Mitchell Irwin said Skeffington was due for medication related to his mental health at the time and was continuing to engage with support services and health professionals.
He said Skeffington had a criminal history, but there had been no serious offending in more than 10 years, and this could be seen as "somewhat of a speed bump" on his road to rehabilitation.
Skeffington penned a letter to the court detailing his remorse and insight.
The Police Transport Command launched an extensive investigation after Skeffington's rant on a city bus about 12.30pm on June 11 was reported to authorities.
Officers arrested Skeffington at his Ocean Street unit at Merewether on June 17.
Court documents show Skeffington appeared agitated as he was travelling along King Street in Newcastle on a bus bound for Charlestown before he began threatening another passenger.
He called the passenger a "f---ing girl" as he tried to leave the bus on Darby Street in Cooks Hill.
The victim earlier told the Newcastle Herald he had been having a quiet phone call with his elderly and unwell mother in her native Macedonian language when the man erupted.
"Sit there with your phone in your hand, what are you going to talk in your language again you rude c---," Skeffington said.
"This is Australia not ... wherever you're f---ing from."
The victim spoke out about the incident at the time and revealed how it had left him shaken and traumatised.
It came amid separate ongoing reports of trouble on the Newcastle public transport system.
"You take your life into your own hands when you get on a Newcastle bus," the victim said.
Days earlier, a 32-year-old bus driver was taken to hospital after a passenger allegedly punched and choked him. In February, a bus driver was stabbed at Charlestown.
