Bus driver attacked

Press, 11 October 1985, Page 1

Bus driver attacked

By

LIZ ROWE

Bus drivers need to know how to handle potentially violent situations, says a Christchurch Transport Board driver, Mr Alan Ward, who was beaten up on his bus yesterday. Mr Ward, aged 47, suffered severe bruising to the chest and rib-cage when he was attacked by a youth. The incident happened about 5 p.m. on Wainoni Road. Driver training should include education programmes on handling difficult situations, said Mr Ward last evening. “We need to know what to say and when to say it; when to act and when not to act In the heat of a situation you have nothing to fall back on but your own wits,” he said. “If we don’t come down on any and every incident we will have a situation like that in Auckland.” In June the Auckland Regional Authority said continuing violence on latenight buses to South Auckland could lead to cancellation of the service. Mr Ward, who has been driving buses for 5% years, said he had been lucky up to now in not being hurt Other drivers and sometimes pas-

sengers had been attacked in the past. “Once three young toughs attacked a passenger on my bus with a view to robbing him. They were trying to drag him outside. I had to interfere and managed to get them off the bus without too much trouble.” It was only a small number of passengers who caused trouble, he said. “Yesterday a couple of young guys were waiting in the queue and their language was something terrible. I warned them about it when they got on. “Later on they were smoking down the back. The other passengers objected so I told them to get off.” The young men refused to get off the bus and so Mr Ward tried physically to put them off. “One turned on me and threw me into the side of the bus and down the door opening. Some of the passengers came to my aid, which I’m grateful for,” he said. Mr Ward said buses were equipped with radio-tele-phones and a “panic” button, but situations could get out of hand very quickly. Police inquiries into the violent incident are continuing.