Coronavirus Covid 19: Wellington man has phone thrown from bus by spitters

A Wellington man who asked public transport users to stop spitting on bus surfaces had his phone thrown from the vehicle.

Journalist Thomas Coughlan told Twitter followers the incident occurred last night on the number two bus, which goes from Seatoun to Karori.

"I asked them to stop and thought I'd grab a pic, so they threw my phone out the door," he told followers.

In a tweet, Coughlan said he received great advice from Healthline and he was put straight through to the operator without having to wait.

Wellington's public transport operator is reassuring the public that reports of people spitting on one of the city's buses does not reflect the behaviour of thousands of regular customers.

A Metlink spokesperson said they were extremely disappointed to hear about the incident and the matter is being investigated by police.

Last month a 25-year-old allegedly spat at an Auckland Transport security guard and was arrested shortly after in Mangere.

Another man was jailed for three months after spitting at police in New Plymouth during the lockdown.

A Police spokesperson said they received a report about 9pm last night relating to people spitting and behaving in a disorderly manner on a bus in Wellington.

"Deliberately spitting in public transport while the country responds to the threat of Covid-19 is dangerous and abhorrent behaviour and will not be tolerated."

They said Police would be making inquiries into the incident.

Under alert level 3 public transport is open to the general public to access workplaces, schools, health facilities and grocery services, but Metlink has reminded users alcohol is prohibited.