A Whanganui bus driver is threatened by an irate motorist. Video / Kajun Campbell Brooking
Wild footage has emerged of a Whanganui bus driver standing his ground after an irate motorist pulled in front of the bus to threaten the driver after a simple dispute.
Video of the heated and bizarre exchange has gone viral on social media after the diminutive flame-haired driver tried to arrange a fight with his much larger opponent.
The clip, shared by stand-up comedian Kajun Campbell Brooking and titled “Jake the bus”, shows a silver 4WD pull in front of the bus before a middle-aged man gets out to abuse the driver.
“You wanna get in my face? Get out the bus,” the road raging motorist shouts.
A passenger, in support of the driver and needing to be on her way, then backs the bus driver, yelling to the motorist to “f*** off. We’re trying to get to f***ing town, we got things to do.”
The incident took place as passengers on the bus watched and filmed. Photo / Kajun Campbell Brooking
The situation escalates when the motorist points directly at the bus driver and yells: “I’ll f***ing get you.”
The bus driver then suggests that he is up for the fight - but not while he was on shift.
“Catch me out of uniform,” he tells the man.
“11 o’clock, Ridgway Street.”
With the two just inches from each other, a passenger can be heard shouting “come on bus driver!” before another says “we got him on camera anyway.”
The raging motorist is then told to “go have a sleep” as he walks towards his car.
But it’s not over yet.
The two wannabe combatants then go head to head before the larger man gets backs in his car to leave.
The bus driver then appears to be congratulated by a passing motorist for his plucky response and a caption on the video reads: “Tu meke my ginger, tu muk my bro”.
Brooking said he filmed the encounter to look out for the bus driver but said he knew he had to share it.
The fast-rising comedy star said his comedy often drew on the funny, gritty side of life and knew the footage had comedic potential, despite the potential seriousness of the situation.
The two appeared set to scrap before the larger man backed away. Photo / Kajun Campbell Brooking
Brooking said that passengers got to know their drivers and they all supported him in the encounter, noting that he later took the time to apologise to passengers for the disruption.
He said bus drivers put up with a lot and passengers told the driver he had no need to apologise.
“He was a good man,” Brooking said.
The video captured the imagination of Kiwis online, with many particularly taken by the redheaded bus driver’s willingness to throw hands (at an appropriate time).
“Shoutout to Ron Weasley for standing his ground,” wrote one impressed commenter.
“Don’t mess with Groundskeeper Willie,” said another, referring to The Simpsons character.
Aotearoa is the land of “thanks driver”, so many were happy that all the passengers appeared to support him
“I love this. All the whānau got their bus driver’s back”.
Mark Read, Horizons Regional Council transport manager, told the Herald that the council condemned the threats to the driver.
”Our initial reaction to seeing the video is one of disappointment in regards to the situation. We take pride in providing a public transport service that has a safe and welcoming environment – for both our passengers and drivers,” Read said.
“We have seen increased aggression towards drivers and we don’t condone abuse of any kind on our services. We are seeking further information from Tranzit who operate the service, including CCTV footage to get a clearer picture of the full situation.”
Chris Marriner is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2003 and previously worked in the Herald’s visual team.
Heath Moore is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending news and social media. He joined the Herald in 2016 and has covered a range of topics from around the country and the globe.
