Auckland Transport driver running red light captured on camera

An Auckland taxi driver is calling out what he says is Auckland Transport’s hypocrisy after his dashcam caught an AT employee running a red light in CBD traffic.

The incident on Hobson St in the CBD was captured on his dashcam on March 27.

Faced with a queue in the lane ahead, the AT-branded car moves out in front of the taxi while the light is already orange, then change lanes and darts across the intersection after the light has turned red.

He complained that day, noting that: “He jumped without hesitation and you clearly say on your website ‘Good drivers stop on red lights’ which is clearly not a case here.”

“When we do mistakes we never get a second chance.”

The light was red when the Auckland Transport driver made their move.

“It’s terrible,” he said, claiming it appeared to him that AT staff feel like they have “a licence to do whatever they want to do”.

He also claimed his dashcam regularly captured Auckland bus drivers running red lights in the city, alongside a wide range of bad driving behaviour from everyday Aucklanders.

The taxi driver admitted to running a red light himself in the past but said he faced demerit points and a fine for his offending.

He told the Herald the Auckland Transport driver should be penalised and AT should examine what he said was a “who cares?” attitude.

An Auckland Transport spokesperson told the Herald the driving seen in the video was disappointing.

“We are investigating this employee matter and it will be dealt with through the appropriate channels,” they said in a statement.

“We expect that all our staff are good examples of road safety, so this is disappointing to see.”

The spokesperson said they would be responding to the complainant and said his initial complaint had not been received as it was not sent to the correct email address.

Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team.