Auckland Mayor Phil Goff is calling for punishment of anyone engaging in anti-social behaviour on public transport, after two alleged incidents of spitting in recent days.
In an incident this morning, three Auckland Transport officers were spat at by a female passenger, following on from a similar incident on Wednesday night involving a security guard, Goff said.
The affected staff have all had to be stood down as a result, as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, AT chief executive Shane Ellison says.
"Our staff and contractors are out there in all weathers ensuring that essential workers can get to their jobs and we cannot tolerate this sort of behaviour," he said.
"We are working with the police to ensure that our staff can do their job without being assaulted.
"It's quite disturbing that a few people are acting like idiots, we've been getting some great feedback about the efforts that we have been making to get people around the city in these tough times but to have incidents like this is quite upsetting."
Mayor Goff is calling for police intervention as a response to those attacks on public transport staff.
"That sort of behaviour is disgusting at any time, but at a time with Covid-19 its also dangerous behaviour," Mayor Goff says.
"The individuals should face the full penalties under the law and I have no doubt that the police will be taking this matter very seriously.
"Our thanks go to our essential transport staff and all of the key workers across Auckland and New Zealand who are working tirelessly at some risk to their personal safety to ensure that the services we all rely on can continue to function throughout the lockdown."
Auckland Transport has been operating throughout Alert Level 4 of the Covid-19 response, allowing for passengers to travel to essential work and supermarkets.
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