In a week where there were two instances of buses hitting pedestrians on Auckland’s streets, records obtained under the Official Information Act show that there were more than 200 complaints about bus driver behaviour in Auckland over the last four months of 2019.
A breakdown of the 202 complaints reveals that 147 of them were for dangerous driving, 39 for red light running, eight for excessive breaking, six involving failure to pick up passengers and two complaints over collisions.
A large number of the dangerous driver complaints came from cyclists, with many feeling squeezed off the roads and some forced off their bikes.
Public transport lobbyists say more bus lanes and better timetabling would improve driver behaviour.
“Things like bus lanes can actually help reduce that stress on bus drivers because they're not having to fight that traffic all the time,” Greater Auckland’s Matt Lowrie says.
Unions say their drivers do well despite being overworked and fatigued.
“The bus drivers I know really care about their passengers and really want to do a good job,” First Union’s Louisa Jones told 1 NEWS.
Unions are calling for more driver input to make bus journeys safer and comfortable for all.
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