Pedestrian hit by bus near Wellington’s Te Aro Park

One person has been taken to hospital after a bus hit a pedestrian near Wellington’s Te Aro Park this morning.

A police spokeswoman confirmed they were called to the area about 7.50am with reports of a crash between a bus and a pedestrian.

A Wellington Free Ambulance spokesperson said they took one person with moderate injuries to hospital.

Metlink acting group manager Fiona Abbott said they were aware of this morning’s incident.

“About 80 passengers onboard the number 36 bus involved safely disembarked after the service was cancelled at the scene,” she said in a statement.

“We understand the pedestrian was able to walk to the ambulance and the bus driver was shaken but unhurt.

“Metlink remains concerned for the welfare of the pedestrian and is taking steps to ensure the bus driver is supported.”

The roads around Te Aro Park are notorious for similar incidents.

Multiple people have been knocked down by buses on Wellington’s Manners St since a two-way bus route was opened in 2010.

The street had been transformed to a bus route from a pedestrian mall, and there have been at least 17 pedestrians hit in the area since then.

The change was said to be an integral part of a wider plan to improve regional transport by reducing bus congestion and improving commute times, but three pedestrians were hit within just one week of the new route opening.

Fran Wilde was chair of the Greater Wellington regional council at the time and expressed her sympathy for the bus drivers, saying Manners St had been one-way for so long people had forgotten to look both ways before crossing.

Numerous efforts have been made to try and make the area safer since, including people wearing sandwich boards reminding pedestrians to look both ways before crossing the street.

Incidents include pedestrians and cyclists being hit, and even NZ Bus director Tim Brown being struck by one of his company’s own Go Wellington buses on Willis St in 2012.

In 2011 Venessa Green, 40, was killed by a bus when she was jogging on Willis St. She was the first person to die since the bus lane change.

Safety measures were put in place to remind pedestrians to check for traffic on Manners St in Wellington after the bus route was changed. Photo / Emme McKay

During an inquest into her death, researcher Dr Jared Thomas provided a report saying there was nothing to conclusively confirm that pedestrian crossing behaviour, or vehicle driver behaviour, was unsafe as a consequence of the infrastructure on Willis St, between Manners and Bond streets.

He said pedestrians did not have a lack of knowledge when it came to crossing behaviour, but instead needed a better understanding of the consequences if they did not adhere to these good behaviours.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.