The bus driver was seriously injured. Photo: 123rf.com
The president of the Tramways Union says a bus driver suffered fractured ribs and injuries to his eye after an assault in Auckland at the weekend.
Police were called to the scene on St Lukes Road just before 11pm on Saturday to reports of a group of youths fighting.
They found a bus driver had been involved and was seriously injured.
He was taken to Auckland Hospital, where he remains.
Three young people were taken into custody at the scene, and police said they were still searching for a fourth involved.
Tramways Union president Gary Froggatt said the driver stopped at the St Lukes bus hub for a bathroom break, when he was attacked.
"On his way back to the bus, he was assaulted by four youths, and suffered fractured ribs and damage to one of his eyes," Froggatt said.
Froggatt said the attack was serious.
The bus company, NZ Bus, had agreed with the union to call a series of stop-work meetings across all seven bus depots, starting next week, to discuss the issue, he said.
Security screens were being installed on buses from next month in the Central City and South Auckland areas, he said.
"Every new bus that comes out will come out with a security screen fitted as standard," Froggatt said.
Auckland public transport service operations manager Duncan McGrory said any abuse towards drivers was absolutely unacceptable.
"They work hard so Aucklanders can move around their city and they deserve to have a safe workplace," he said.
"The driver will be off work while he recovers from this awful attack, and will get the support he needs from the bus operator."
McGrory said they were taking actions to keep everyone on the network safe, but there were no quick solutions.
"We are working closely with community groups, NZ Police and other agencies, but ultimately, public transport is an honest reflection of the communities it serves.
"We need to look at why these issues are occurring in the first place, and what we can all do to ensure that families, schools, and communities are strong, resilient and proud," he said.
McGrory said any incident on the network was one too many, and that there were a number of initiatives already in place to keep staff and passengers safe, like CCTV and panic buttons fitted on all buses, and transport officers deployed at hubs and routes.
They were also rolling out driver screens to 80 percent of buses over the next two years and extending the CCTV network to cover bus stops with high passenger numbers, he said.
NZ Bus owner Kinetic has been approached for comment.
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