New Zealand / Regional

Violent youths threaten bus service

16:33 pm on 23 July 2012

A bus service between Wainuiomata and Lower Hutt may have to be shut down to protect drivers from violent and threatening behaviour from young people.

Driver Wayne Van Der Werss was threatened by a teenage passenger waving a kitchen knife last month.

He says the bus company and community groups are trying to work out how to keep drivers safe but if there is no improvement the night services will have to go.

Mr Van Der Werss says there is a group of up to 15 young people who get drunk and hang around the depot yards or threaten drivers.

"They think it's great to bait bus drivers, threaten them, kick the sides of buses when they're parked up," he says.

He says the buses cannot be locked and sometimes groups of young people will climb into empty buses parked in the depot and drink alcohol and cause trouble.