Terror bus ride brings traffic to standstill

PASSENGERS on a ‘‘bus ride from hell’’ were surprised when their driver stopped on a highway interchange while going the wrong way – and asked if anyone wanted to get off.

At that point, shortly before 10am on Thursday, Lowry Bay resident Ash Wilson knew he, his fellow passengers and other motorway users were ‘‘in a spot of bother’’.

Trouble began when the driver of the route 81 Valley Flyer bus from Eastbourne to Wellington took the southbound offramp at the Ngauranga interchange.

In a bid to rectify the situation, the driver pulled two U-turns trying to get on to State Highway 2.

‘‘When he first stopped and began to reverse back up the interchange there was a state of frenzy and yelling among the passengers. This changed to relief when he started to go forward again.’’

The relief was short-lived when he completed a four-point turn and headed back up the interchange offramp into the path of approaching traffic.

‘‘The mood went from a sense of calmness to shock. We could not believe what was happening.

‘‘Shocked motorists were toot- ing their horns and waving at him. He then stopped his bus and asked us whether anyone wanted to get off at Kaiwharawhara.’’

With southbound traffic banked up, the driver then embarked on another ‘‘three, four or fivepoint U-turn’’ to return to the motorway south.

During this manoeuvre, the bus brought traffic on the offramp and the two southbound lanes to a standstill.

‘‘During the second U-turn, he backed the bus into a safety barrier. When he got us back on the motorway everyone was in a state of shock,’’ Mr Wilson said.

‘‘It was not a day to be pulling U-turns on the motorway as weather conditions at the time were appalling.

‘‘It was the bus trip from hell, to be honest.’’

NZ Bus, which runs the Valley Flyer, has stood down the driver.

Wellington Tramways Union secretary Kevin O’Sullivan con- firmed an employment meeting involving the driver, himself and the company had been called for Monday.

Constable Clint Rogers of Wellington road policing said a decision on whether the driver might be prosecuted would not be made until next week.

NZ Bus chief executive Zane Fulljames said any driving behaviour that might put passengers or other road users at risk ‘‘is viewed extremely seriously’’.

Photos: CHRIS SKELTON/FAIRFAX NZ Hip swing: Marty Clark, of Nelson, on his way to a best net score for an above-knee amputee, says he played ‘‘pretty consistent’’, with only one out-of-bounds shot.

Photo: ASH WILSON Passenger perspective: The bus was at right angles to the motorway lanes.