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"Six employees were killed and six others wounded before the other workers were able to overpower" the driver, provincial governor Fathi Saad said on public television.
An official with Egypt's security services earlier told AFP that 16 of the passengers were wounded.
The driver for the company Arab Contractors was taking 22 employees to their workplace in Giza when he stopped the bus at Meniel Shiha, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Cairo, and suddenly started firing, the official said.
Arab Contractors, one of Egypt's biggest building firms, said the incident took place about 200 metres (yards) from one of its sites.
"The passengers were shocked to see driver Mahmud Taha Ahmad Sueilem, 54, pull out an automatic weapon from under his seat and start firing indiscriminately on the passengers," it said in a statement.
The local governor said the violence was all the more shocking because Sueilem had "a good reputation."
The official MENA news agency, quoting a security official, said the driver opened fire, following a row with colleague and neighbour Abdel Fattah Salem, "over archaeological excavations."
The official, citing the results of a police investigation, said that Salem and other company employee were involved in excavations near the driver's house in search of antiquities.
"Salem criticised them about this and they made fun of him and threatened him... The bus driver decided to get his revenge and hid an automatic rifle in the bus," the official said.
"The driver aimed the gun at Abdel Fattah Salem who pleaded with him not to kill him but he opened fire and shot him dead," the official added.
"The driver had a nervous collapse at the sight of the blood and began firing indiscriminately at his other colleagues," he added.
Survivors said earlier that the driver, who was arrested by the authorities, had been suffering depression due to a job transfer.
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An official with Egypt's security services earlier told AFP that 16 of the passengers were wounded.
The driver for the company Arab Contractors was taking 22 employees to their workplace in Giza when he stopped the bus at Meniel Shiha, 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Cairo, and suddenly started firing, the official said.
Arab Contractors, one of Egypt's biggest building firms, said the incident took place about 200 metres (yards) from one of its sites.
"The passengers were shocked to see driver Mahmud Taha Ahmad Sueilem, 54, pull out an automatic weapon from under his seat and start firing indiscriminately on the passengers," it said in a statement.
The local governor said the violence was all the more shocking because Sueilem had "a good reputation."
The official MENA news agency, quoting a security official, said the driver opened fire, following a row with colleague and neighbour Abdel Fattah Salem, "over archaeological excavations."
The official, citing the results of a police investigation, said that Salem and other company employee were involved in excavations near the driver's house in search of antiquities.
"Salem criticised them about this and they made fun of him and threatened him... The bus driver decided to get his revenge and hid an automatic rifle in the bus," the official said.
"The driver aimed the gun at Abdel Fattah Salem who pleaded with him not to kill him but he opened fire and shot him dead," the official added.
"The driver had a nervous collapse at the sight of the blood and began firing indiscriminately at his other colleagues," he added.
Survivors said earlier that the driver, who was arrested by the authorities, had been suffering depression due to a job transfer.
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