Fears have resurfaced over violence on public transport in the wake of a horrific fatal bus stabbing earlier this week – even as transit operators insist services are safe, with Auckland officials pointing to millions of incident-free journeys.
A 59-year-old man died, and a 51-year-old man was seriously injured after being stabbed in what police described as unprovoked and random attacks as the route 76 bus travelled from Glen Innes towards Ōrākei on Monday night.
But more than 1.7 million journeys passed without incident on the city’s public transport network last week, Auckland Transport group manager of metro services Stacey van der Putten said, as authorities work to reassure passengers rattled by the nighttime attack.
Fatal Auckland bus stabbing highlights fears over violence on public transport – Watch on TVNZ+
AT’s Stacey Van der Putten said the rising risk of violence and aggression over the past few years was “startling”. (Source: Breakfast)
Other incidents in recent months included assaults on drivers and passengers at bus and train stations, and a stabbing around a year ago on a bus in Onehunga.
Wellington officials were also reassuring commuters, adding that violent crime was not increasing on the Metlink network in the capital.
“Our buses are safe. We had over 1.7 million journeys last week. These incidents are very minimal in terms of the numbers. One is too much, of course,” van der Putten told 1News.
“The vast majority of people who travel on public transport do so respectfully and kindly.”
One man died and a second man was seriously injured after they were attacked by the same person aboard a bus in east Auckland. (Source: 1News)
Crime increased in Auckland but not Wellington – officials
But van der Putten acknowledged things had changed in recent years.
“If I compare to how it is now to pre-Covid sort of days, in terms of the rising risk of violent threats and aggression we see, it is startling,” she said.
“These are not public transport issues. These are social and community issues that come on board public transport, and it’s incredibly and deeply concerning for all of us.”
Cases of violence or abuse onboard buses first rose dramatically during Auckland’s Delta Covid lockdown in late 2021.
Van der Putten said there was an “unmet requirement for mental health” in communities that was reflected on the public transport network.
Figures released to 1News in March showed transport-related crime remaining steady in the capital but increasing in Christchurch and Auckland over the past two years.
Figures obtained by 1News reveal more than 3300 offences were reported around public transport last year. (Source: 1News)
Combined together, Auckland and Wellington accounted for around 80% of public transport patronage nationally.
Metlink group manager Samantha Gain said: “I would like to reassure our passengers that violent crime is not increasing on the [Wellington region’s public transport] network.
“On the rare occasions it does occur, Metlink and our operators protect our communities by quickly sharing information and CCTV footage with police.”
Fears of crime not the same as rates of crime
However, regardless of actual crime rates, public transport can often attract outsized attention for safety as compared to other forms of transport.
Experts say enclosed bus and train spaces can heighten passengers’ feeling of vulnerability and danger, even when statistical risk of violence remains low.
Emergency services were called to Fenchurch Street, Glen Innes around 8pm. (Source: 1News)
Research has also previously shown women report feeling significantly less safe on public transport than men, particularly during late-night travel or on quieter services.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward councillor Josephine Bartley, who regularly catches the same bus service, said she had received messages raising safety concerns this week.
“I think people are wanting reassurance that it’s safe to get back on the bus,” Bartley said in a video posted on social media while riding the 76 bus.
“I won’t lie, I am looking carefully at who’s boarding the bus.”
Auckland deputy mayor Desley Simpson told 1News she also caught the service and had seen antisocial behaviour in the city centre and onboard public transport.
“It is top of the mind for a lot of people safety, security, and the ability to be able to move in about any city in the country in safety,” Simpson said.
“I’ve seen it for myself. I catch that bus route. I have been at the bottom of town, and you see people wandering around, waving their arms and talking, and having behaviour that you know isn’t what most people would call in inverted commas normal.
“For some, that’s quite threatening when they come up close to you in a personal space.”
But she said she wanted to give people confidence they could still use public transport.
“I will be on the bus tomorrow.”
How does the data measure up?
Data obtained by 1News showed reports of violence, threats and aggression onboard Auckland buses peaking over 2022 and 2023 and subsiding somewhat since then.
Between 30 and 40 incidents were reported a month at the peak in mid-2023.
These ranged on a nine-level grading system, which included verbal threats and aggression all the way to serious and severe assaults.
What safety measures are being put in place?
The rising number of incidents post-pandemic, including attacks on bus drivers, has spawned action in Auckland, where more is being done to improve safety perceptions.
It comes as the city’s council has pushed for more people to use public transport more often with the City Rail Link expected to open towards the end of next year.
These included installing retro-fitting plastic screens separating drivers from passengers.
Additionally, around a dozen new transport officers would roam the network.
But with around 13,000 daily bus trips, Van der Putten said full coverage by transport officers was impossible, but that authorities were exploring other options including security guards and Māori wardens deployed based on driver reports of problem areas.
She told Breakfast that a live CCTV trial, where bus operations could watch cameras on buses remotely, had been trialed on around 80 buses recently.
A spokepserson for Wellington’s Metlink added it also had safety measures onboard.
“Metlink employs warranted transport officers who operate on board our services engaging, encouraging and educating passengers travelling on the Metlink network.
“We have panic buttons for bus drivers that connect to operator operations centres and have also been working with 105, the police non-emergency number, to educate passengers on reporting antisocial behaviour to police.
“Good passenger etiquette is encouraged through behavioural campaigns such as ‘Aunty’s watching’.”
