Bus drivers running red lights
Wellingtonians who say the road code doesn’t apply to bus drivers may be right, with running of red lights by bus drivers attracting almost 200 complaints last year.
But the Tramways Union believed bus drivers broke the rules due to the stress of meeting strict timetables – and said the number of bus driver red-light runners could be higher than reported.
A Metlink spokesman said the allegations were concerning to Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) but it was working with bus operators. ‘‘Metlink would rather a service was late than road rules broken.’’
Last year, 194 incidents of drivers running red lights were reported to Metlink. Of those, 85 were referred to Metlink bus operators for further investigation. However, police said they weren’t aware of any red-lightrunning bus drivers being referred to them for investigation.
Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan believed bus drivers were facing significant timetable pressure, but agreed the numbers were concerning.
‘‘I’m surprised it’s not more, to be honest; 194 were reported, so there could be more than double of that happening.’’
He was not aware of any union members being prosecuted for running red lights.
Automobile Association (AA) spokesman Dylan Thomsen said red-light running was its members’ number one frustration. ‘‘If you don’t know that red means stop, you probably shouldn’t be behind the wheel.’’
Thomsen said he had seen bus drivers run red lights at the intersection of Willis St and Lambton Quay, and the intersection of Willis, Boulcott and Manners streets.
‘‘All it takes is for the timing to be wrong when somebody takes off from a red light to cause a serious crash.’’
At present, Wellington has only one red-light camera operating – at the intersection of Karo Drive and Victoria St, near the Terrace Tunnel entrance.
Thomsen said the AA had been calling for more red-light cameras for years.
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said officers from the council’s traffic operations centre had provided monitoring but their cameras were not positioned to accurately catch red-light runners. ‘‘We have advised GWRC to conduct their own more accurate monitoring of the buses in regards to red-light running.’’
Metlink said it had completed a ‘‘considerable amount of work’’ with bus operators to tweak timetables, and some changes were launched on Sunday.
‘‘We believe that working in partnership with our operators on good driving behaviours is the best way forward,’’ the Metlink spokesman said.