An MTA bus driver was pepper-sprayed in the face by a “disorderly passenger” who refused to pay the $2.90 fare in Manhattan, police and sources said.

The ugly episode unfolded aboard an M11 bus at West 55th Street and Ninth Avenue shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.

The 45-year-old male driver was spritzed in the face by the would-be fare beater following the dispute, the sources said.

The eagle-eyed bus operator “saw some cops in the area and waved them down,” the sources said.

The suspect, David Price, 25, of Manhattan, was charged with second-degree assault and fare evasion, the NYPD said.

The bus driver was taken to Mount Sinai West in stable condition, police said.