Auckland Transport says footage circulating online of illegal behaviour — including drug use — aboard public buses is "totally unacceptable", as the union calls for more to be done to tackle safe public transport.
Footage circulating on social media appeared to show a person smoking from a glass pipe, and other incidents of illicit nature were reported by users on Facebook account Checkpoint Watch Auckland.
Users on the page said they're allegedly seeing more meth pipes, syringes, bongs, empty packets of drugs, and that was becoming "normal" on public transport across Auckland.
Anita Rosentreter from trade union Workers First told Breakfast the behaviour was bound to make drivers and others passengers feel "uncomfortable and unsafe".
"Our public transport is such an important feature of our cities. It is the most efficient way of moving people around, getting people to work, getting people home safe after a night out.
"You do expect that people are going to be on there, potentially under the influence of alcohol and that kind of thing, but you want everyone to feel safe and comfortable. That's really important too. So, yeah, we do need to expect that it might happen sometimes, and have plans in place for when it does."
She said bus drivers were in a "really difficult position" as their main responsibility was to drive the bus safely and keep themselves free of distractions.
"They are, of course, a leader in that environment, but there's only so much they can do when they are, in fact, driving the bus.
She said the introduction of transport officers has been "quite successful" at managing passenger behaviour, saying they were "another human being on the bus who can help intervene and do the right thing when necessary".
Rosentreter said it could also be tricky to speak up about antisocial behaviour when you were in a confined space with people doing the offending.
"You can't just walk away if you're uncomfortable, right, you're stuck there, and it's moving, so you can't exactly press the emergency exit button and jump out.
"But also, you wouldn't really necessarily want people to be intervening if that could potentially create safety issues as well. I mean, sometimes people who are under the influence of drugs don't necessarily respond particularly well to other people speaking up about their drug use.
"So obviously, passengers should also should also be very cautious in those situations."
'Totally unacceptable' - AT responds
In a statement to 1News, an Auckland Transport spokesperson said it had been made aware of a photo circulating on social media that appeared to show a person lighting a glass pipe onboard an Auckland bus.
"We have worked with our bus operators to quickly identify the bus we believe the photo was taken on so that CCTV footage from onboard can be saved and the bus company can arrange for the bus to be tested and decontaminated. We will also be seeking advice on what information and support we can provide to other passengers who were onboard," they said.
It said "incidents like this are rare onboard our public transport network, but are totally unacceptable to our customers and communities".
AT said it had CCTV on all buses and teams of transport officers and security staff deployed across the network.
Police said it had not yet received a report in relation to the behaviour exhibited in the picture.
"We encourage anyone who witnesses illegal activity on public transport to make a report with police, either by 111 if it is happening now, or 105 after the fact," a police spokesperson said.
Anybody who witnessed this incident was urged to get in touch with police, or to provide further details anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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