Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
Latest figures from Auckland Transport confirm that assaults against bus drivers appears to be climbing in New Zealand's largest city.
According to data from AT, the number of assaults against drivers in the first six months of 2024 rose to 33, up from 21 over the same period a year earlier.
Fifty-one assaults on drivers were logged with AT over 2023, with more than 120 cases of verbal abuse registered in that period.
Twenty-four assaults on drivers were recorded by AT in 2022, ranging from minor to severe, as well as more than 50 accounts of verbal abuse.
In the first six months of this year, 47 cases of verbal abuse were reported to AT, including five incidents of threats to harm or kill.
In April, a man was charged with assault after punching and kicking a driver in the Auckland suburb of Ponsonby.
Passengers have also been caught up in the violence on buses.
On June 28, a 16-year-old student sustained severe facial injuries following an vicious attack by a passenger on an AT bus in East Auckland.
Police later arrested a 39-year-old woman, describing the attack as a "hate-motivated crime".
On Monday, an Auckland bus driver asked his dispatcher to call police after a woman boarded the bus and started using some racist slurs.
Henry Liu, who was driving a route 70 bus from Britomart to Botany, said the incident left him "traumatised".
"Police acknowledge that there have been some high-profile instances involving violence on buses, and at bus stations this year in Tāmaki Makaurau," said Scott Gemmell, director of Tāmaki Makaurau Partnerships.
Gemmell told RNZ the public could help police by reporting violent incidents they witnessed by calling 111.
"This can help give police staff the time they need to deploy and hold offenders to account," he said.
In response to the increasing reports of violence, AT said the plan to retrofit 80 percent of its bus fleet with transparent screens was still in progress.
The organisation believed the screens would serve as barriers to protect drivers from potential attacks by passengers.
"There are now several prototype bus safety screens being tested on the bus network," said Rachel Cara, group manager of public transport operations at AT.
"This allows us and the operators to get feedback from drivers and identify any issues before large orders for more are placed," she said.
Previously, AT said it would install screens on 33 buses in the city centre and South Auckland, but that number was expected to change.
"There is still an intent to get the 11 Citylink buses done, but the 22 South Auckland ones have been superseded by another agreement with Ritchies," Cara said.
AT said that 40 percent of its buses would have screens protecting drivers by June 2025, with another 40 percent fitted in the next 12 months.
Additionally, AT had been working towards adding more transport officers to increase deployment onboard buses and at public transport hubs across the network as well as extend the CCTV network to monitor high patronage bus stops.
Cara said AT was working on community-centric engagement and targeted initiatives from agencies to assist in keeping the public transport network safe for all.
"As this is a societal issue, we need everyone's help to ensure these public places can be safe and feel safe for everyone," she said.