Published 06:30 IST, November 14th 2019
New Zealand: Cyclist takes up several seats and refuses to let other passengers sit down
A cyclist takes up priority seats and prevents a mom and baby from sitting, forcing them to stand in a crowded train. Verbally abuses employees when confronted.
According to a local tabloid, a cyclist got on the early morning commuter train and proceeded to lay down to have a nap on the seats. At the next stop, a mother and baby who boarded the train were left standing in the crowded train.
Unruly passenger
A good samaritan by the name of Stuart Dawson who was also on the 7.18 train on Auckland's Onehunga line on Wednesday, November 13, managed to discretely alert the station manager to inform him of the unfolding situation. Upon being confronted the cyclist became aggressive with the employee and reportedly started verbally abusing the train them.
The confrontation
"He went up and asked the cyclist to move and the guy just said, 'Get f***ed'. He said that a couple of times."
"The manager then said, 'If you continue doing that I'll let you off at the next stop'.
"The cyclist repeated what he said, saying 'f*** off' and went back to sleep. The manager then walked off and did absolutely nothing."
The mother who was visibly annoyed at this point and according to Dawson has not returned to the train since the incident.
A spokesperson of Transdev, the company that operates Auckland Transport Line sad they were happy with the way that the staff handled the situation and the passenger.
However, Dawson disagrees. He said: "I just don't know why the train manager would threaten to kick him off but then do nothing about it."
There seems to be a lack of security or more staff members who travel the Auckland Transport lines who can ensure the safety onboard these trains for passengers so that they do not have to deal with such unruly passengers. This incident is not isolated and it appears to be a problem for the Auckland Transport Line, sources said.
Updated 07:23 IST, November 14th 2019