Act calls for Auckland Transport to stop ‘free rides’ on buses, claiming it leads to attacks on drivers

• Act is urging Auckland Transport to stop tolerating fare-dodgers, citing increased violence against bus drivers and passengers.
• Dr Parmjeet Parmar highlighted recent attacks, including a bus driver who was admitted to hospital with fractured ribs.
• Auckland Transport says it doesn’t have a “travel for free” policy and passengers evading fares face instant fines of $150.

Act is calling on Auckland Transport to stop tolerating fare-dodgers, claiming it increases the risk of attacks on bus drivers and passengers.

“Antisocial fare-dodgers discourage Aucklanders from using public transport. They deprive AT of revenue and load costs on to rule-abiding ratepayers. They are threatening, stealing from and assaulting bus drivers and passengers,” says Auckland-based ACT MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar.

Bus drivers have been regularly targeted in recent months, including through a beating, an alleged racially charged assault, a neck-slashing and a wrench attack.

The latest incident occurred last weekend when an attack on a bus driver by a group of young people in St Lukes saw him admitted to Auckland Hospital with fractured ribs and a damaged eye.

Auckland-based Act MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar.

Three young people were taken into custody at the scene and have been referred to Youth Aid, police said.

Last month, police arrested a 37-year-old man wanted in connection to the death of a woman on a bus in Auckland’s Onehunga.

The woman – who was a passenger on the bus – was found with multiple stab wounds and died at the scene after the attack on October 23.

Parmar said she met a bus driver in September who had been seriously assaulted by fare-dodgers and relayed his concerns to AT.

“Since then, I have been told by a bus contractor that AT has been repeatedly warned that its lax policy on fare-dodging is leading to violence.

“In 2020, AT introduced a de facto ‘travel for free’ policy when it removed cash from buses and advised operators that passengers without balances on their Hop cards should be allowed to travel regardless.

“The contractor tells me AT’s policy means some people now believe they are entitled to take the bus for free. This results in disputes with bus drivers, and it means that unstable or intoxicated individuals use the bus as a free ride or shelter. These situations increase the risk of attacks on drivers and passengers,” Parmar said.

This schoolboy had three of his teeth knocked out and a further two teeth damaged after he was randomly attacked on a bus in Auckland.

AT public transport and active modes director Stacey van der Putten said fare evasion is not tolerated and AT has never had a “travel for free” policy.

Those who evade fares face instant fines of $150 and court fines of up to $1000.

A bus driver suffered facial injuries after he was attacked by a passenger following an incident of racial abuse on September 7 on the number 18 bus in Avondale near Great North Rd.

“What we do have in place is ‘de-escalation training’ for our bus drivers, which is designed to reduce the risk of confrontations with passengers

“Bus drivers should be reminding passengers about the need to pay, but if things get heated, we don’t want drivers to be getting attacked over fares,” said van der Putten, who estimated people evading fares comprised about 3% of boardings.

Last week, Auckland Tramways Union president Gary Froggatt said NZ Bus has agreed to consult with employees, advising them of the safety protocols in place and that they’re no longer required to monitor Hop cards or fares, and recommending they do not get involved in arguments with passengers for their own safety.

He said if someone refuses to tag on or pay for a ticket, Froggatt said, bus drivers are instructed to print a no-fare ticket which goes to AT.

AT says it has never had a "travel for free" policy.

Drivers are no longer going to be held responsible for passengers who don’t pay their fares, Froggatt said.

Parmar said bus drivers should not be responsible for dealing with fare-dodgers, saying AT needs to change its free-ride policy, whether it’s sterner “no fare, no ride” signage, a mobile squad of AT officers responding to fare-dodgers, or greater support by police and private security guards.

“It is clear we need stronger security measures. AT needs to sit down with bus contractors, drivers and police to agree on firm actions.

“I have requested a meeting with AT to discuss these issues, and I am ready to facilitate a meeting between all affected groups if that’s what’s needed.”

A spokesperson for Kinetic Bus – the largest supplier of bus services in Auckland, which operates 650 buses and employs 920 drivers under the NZ Bus and Go Bus operations – said it was not the contractor referred to by Parmar.

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