Passengers got off bus over driving fears

A bus driver stopped for drink-driving took the wrong turning and had trouble handling the ticket machine, the passenger who dobbed him in to police says.

Police stopped the Go Bus and gave the driver a breath test about 5.45pm on Monday, as he drove the bus from to Napier to Hastings.

He failed a roadside breath test and a further breath test at Hastings police station. He was then given a blood test.

Police are now awaiting test results before considering charges.

The driver's licence has been suspended and a qualified police officer drove the bus for the rest of the route.

Passenger Annie Emerson got off the bus because she was concerned by the driver's behaviour.

She smelled alcohol as soon as she got on the bus, outside the Hastings library, she told The Dominion Post.

Mrs Emerson and two other passengers got off at Taradale Rd when they became worried about the driving.

Mrs Emerson said it was clear early on that the driver was "not 100 per cent".

"As soon as the doors opened I could smell alcohol on the bus. I thought maybe it was another passenger, but then he couldn't use the ticket machine properly, he took the wrong route, and he wasn't very coherent."

He was driving "quite fast and a bit close to the centre line". "He wasn't slurring, but he was trying very hard to talk properly."

She did not know the driver well, but he was a regular driver.

- NZPA