Passenger knocked out as driver takes off
EMA TUALA blacked out and woke up to the faces of paramedics after a Go Wellington bus driver pulled away so fast she tumbled backwards and landed flat on her back.
Operator NZ Bus has launched an investigation after Tuala said she smashed her head on the bus floor and passed out. She was left embarrassed after other passengers screamed at the driver to stop as the fall was happening.
The 62-year-old cleaner had finished a shift at a Newtown rest home and was making her way home to Rongotai on the No 11 Seatoun bus on Saturday.
Tuala said the bus was travelling down Riddiford St when the driver sped forward suddenly, throwing her backwards. ‘‘I felt embarrassed that I was unable to move, but the worst feeling was being out of control,’’ she said.
The next thing she knew, an ambulance crew were treating her and she was being taken to Wellington Hospital’s emergency department. Doctors checked her and gave her painkillers but told her to take a week off work.
With no sick leave, Tuala said a week without getting paid would cause financial stress. She works four-hour shifts for six days a week at a rate of $15.90 an hour.
Apart from her bruised pride, the tumble had left her with a throbbing pain in her lower back.
Daughter Katerina Tovia claimed the incident was not logged by the bus driver. Tovia, a regular bus user herself, said the behaviour of drivers who pulled away as people were still finding a seat was ‘‘appalling’’.
‘‘These bus drivers just take off – I don’t know whether it’s a training issue or if they’re just taking shortcuts with safety.’’
Greater Wellington Regional Council public transport group general manager Wayne Hastie said the incident was of ‘‘serious concern and we’re very sorry for the customer concerned’’.
NZ Bus southern area chief operating officer Tonia Haskell said the company took passenger falls very seriously and confirmed a full investigation, including witness interviews, was under way.
Haskell disputed Tovia’s claim that the incident had not been logged by the driver, and said the driver had called the incident in.
In July a Wellington bus driver who forced a mother and newborn baby off her Valley Flyer bus to Wainuiomata was fired.
In May two passengers were ordered off a Wellington bus to get change for their $20 notes, only for the driver to leave them on the roadside, witnesses said.
In March, blind woman Megan Johnston was left in tears after a Go Wellington driver refused to give her a discount because he thought she was faking her blindness. Also in March, Ceri Jones of Island Bay, who was pregnant, was told she could not get on a Go Wellington bus unless she folded up her pram.