The children get the green cross light but luckily stop before the bus runs the red light.
The children get the green cross light but luckily stop before the bus runs the red light.
Dashcam footage has caught an Auckland Transport Metro bus flying through a red light, narrowly missing two children standing at the crossing.
The footage was posted on social media by National MP Simeon Brown, who said the incident happened at the intersection of Cascades Rd and Pakuranga Rd, in East Auckland.
"This dashcam footage ... gave me the goosebumps," he wrote.
"Watch when the crossing signal changes for the school children crossing the road."
Brown wrote that he hoped Auckland Transport will take action.
But in a following tweet, the MP said AT had responded to a complaint about the incident stating: "Unfortunately, the images are not clear enough to establish which bus company operates the service you saw."
Brown told the Herald the footage was sent to him by a constituent who had laid a complaint with Auckland Transport and was unhappy with the response.
"They asked me to pursue it because the response they got back was very unsatisfactory - basically saying they can't identify the bus company, they have sent a general message to drivers, but could not take any further action.
"This was very disappointing because clearly it is an Auckland Transport bus and I would have thought they would have GPS - and they were given the date, time and location so should have been able to identify who it was," Brown said.
Brown explained the time stamp on the footage was incorrect, and the incident actually happened at 7.47am on the morning of Wednesday, July 31. The complaint was said to have outlined this.
"My understanding is the buses also have CCTV cameras on them, and should also be able to be looked at in terms of red lights," Brown said.
The MP said he was shocked by the footage.
"It gave me goosebumps watching how the light turned green for the children to cross, and then the bus came flying through the red light.
The children get the green cross light but luckily stop before the bus runs the red light.
"It is such a massive safety issue running a red light, but particularly for pedestrians on their way to school.
"What if those kids weren't looking the right way? There is a whole lot of things that could have gone wrong as cars had already started turning."
Brown said the incident needed to be taken "incredibly seriously" by Auckland Transport.
AT spokesman Mark Hannan said it was totally unacceptable for any driver to run a red light.
"By bus company we mean which of the seven operators who contract services to AT.
"There are actually more than 1000 buses in Auckland that are blue and silver, with the AT Metro symbol on the back. This is the standard livery for Auckland's buses so it's pretty hard to narrow it down," he said.
"We cannot identify the bus driver from this footage – the time stamp on the video appears to be wrong, it says 22.49pm but it isn't dark.
"If anyone can identify the bus or the operator we will take the matter up with them."
• If you have any information about the incident call 09 366 6400, or use 0800 103 080 if within Auckland calling areas of Warkworth, Helensville, Hibiscus Coast, Great Barrier or Pukekohe.
