An Auckland bus driver has been left with serious injuries after a stabbing which involved a passenger on Saturday night in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill.
The incident left the driver with serious injuries and has raised concerns about the safety measures on Auckland's public transport network.
The alleged attacker, a 62-year-old, has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and is due to appear in court on Monday.
Police are investigating the incident, and the Auckland Tramways Union has called for increased safety measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
Gary Froggatt, President of the Auckland Tramways Union, spoke to Tova O'Brien on Monday morning and expressed his concerns about the safety of bus drivers.
"There’s not enough protection," Froggatt said.
"Currently, Auckland Transport and NZ Bus are trialling a couple of security screens which would help prevent this type of thing.
"In London, the double-deckers have enclosures, but they have an outside door where the driver can escape if necessary."
O'Brien asked Froggatt why it is necessary to trial the safety screens if they were already functional in other locations.
"We did try trial half a dozen security screens some time ago but the drivers didn't like to be enclosed, they felt hemmed in.
"What we've found is that passengers tend to go down the back of the bus then wander back up the aisle and whack the driver, sometimes while they're driving the bus.
"We wanted a simple screen that can be pulled down from behind the driver to prevent the initial assault, [which] gives the driver time to pull over and get out of the bus."
Froggatt said he doesn't think the [bus] companies and Auckland Transport are giving this issue enough urgency.
Reports of drivers being abused aren't isolated incidents, with O'Brien asking Froggatt about other attacks the union has heard about.
"Drivers are spat at and abused verbally," he said.
"There were always arguments over fares, [and] people still getting on the bus and wanting to ride for free.
"Drivers are encouraged not to get involved in those types of altercations."
Listen to the full interview between Gary Froggatt and Tova above.
You can also download the full interview on the Tova podcast, and listen on the go.
