Outrage after Wellington Tranzurban manager mocks cyclists in shocking post

Wellington cyclists are outraged after a senior bus manager from Tranzurban was caught mocking bikers in a controversial Facebook post. Photo / 123rf

Wellington cyclists are outraged after a senior bus manager from Tranzurban was caught mocking bikers in a controversial Facebook post.

Graham Atkinson, the company's operations infrastructure manager, took to a closed Wellington Bus group, posting a "I'm a wanker starter pack" meme which takes aim at cyclists.

In the post, it shows images of Lycra, sunglasses, a bike, and a cycle lane but with an arrow pointing for cyclists to drive on the main part of the road instead.

Atkinson's post has since been screenshotted and published in numerous transport pages, with many Wellingtonians labelling his post "totally unprofessional".

"It's so disheartening to know that this is how people driving huge heavy vehicles view a vulnerable little person on a bike," one person wrote.

Another said: "A brief search for 'cyclist hit by bus Wellington' shows why people don't see it as funny, particularly when the operations manager of Tranzurban is the person posting this."

Patrick Morgan, a project manager at the Cycling Action Network, said the post "crosses the line" and believes it's "not just a simple giggle" at people riding bikes.

He said it "can be scary sharing a road with a bus" and feels the attitude from Atkinson is damaging.

The offending post has since been removed. Photo / Facebook

In private messages obtained by RNZ, a Tranzurban employee then responded to cyclists' comments in private messenger, saying Atkinson's post "didn't mention or bring the company into disrepute" and indicated employees are free to hold their own viewpoints.

However, some defended Atkinson's post, with one person writing: "Some people really have their underwear in one hell of a twist if they are going to blow an innocent Facebook post so far out of the water. It's called satire for a reason."

Tranzurban released a statement to the Herald, saying the meme was removed and the company doesn't condone the message behind the post.

"Tranzurban doesn't condone this negative attitude towards cyclists or indeed any other road user. Further more, our social media response to queries on this posting was not handled well at the time and we apologise for this.

"It was a serious error of judgement by a team member who has since been spoken to."