Mark Kenneth Magat Photo: RNZ / Finn Blackwell
Auckland Transport is welcoming nine new transport officers, bolstering numbers across the network as it tries to improve commuter safety.
It's been a hot button issue in the super city, with a number of recent incidents on the network, including a vicious attack on a 16-year-old school boy on a bus in July.
Auckland Transport says transport officers are vital to ensuring safety on buses, trains and ferries, and the new recruits RNZ spoke to say they're up to the task.
After a six week training course, nine new transport officers were ready to set out across the city and they were keen to make a difference.
Mark Kenneth Magat graduated about a month ago, and was already out on patrol.
"Basically, we're just patrolling by trains, buses, ferries, and then watching over the people, making sure that they're safe, checking their hop cards, tickets," he said.
So far, he was finding the job easy.
"For me, I am a people person and when I approach them, I just smile, making them smile.
"I have this thinking that; if you're going to smile at people, they're going to smile at you," Magat said.
He said he was still mindful about his own safety while out on patrol.
"In our training that's our first priority, our safety first before customer safety.
"If we feel that we are in danger, all we have to do is walk away."
Auckland Transport had 120 incidents of violence, threats and aggression reported by bus operators across the network from January to June of this year.
Compliance trainer Michael Moriarty was one of the people responsible for training up the recruits.
He said the new cohort of transport officers were heading into challenging terrain.
"What we see is people who are suffering, and often, there seems to be a trend post-Covid where they're are a lot more aggressive, maybe, or assertive in terms of that suffering."
He said it was important to have a level of understanding while on the job.
"When we see them for who they are, and they are human beings like you and me, they're just having tough times, when we understand that authority doesn't trump mana, and we treat people with dignity, then there's more of a chance that we'll have a positive interaction with them, and a safer interaction with them.
"And consequently, the other people in that moving tin can, be it a bus, or a train, or a ferry, also feel safe, so that's the paramount thing."
Moriarty said the officers were warranted, meaning they could issue fines, or ask passengers who haven't paid their fares to get off the public transport.
But he said the job was about more than enforcement.
"We want to make sure that the people that that we're recruiting and the people that we're training have a really mature, consistent, fair, and empathetic sense of the powers that they have, even though they're limited, that they don't see themselves as above the people that we actually serve, we we actually work alongside those people, not above them."
First Union represented bus drivers in Auckland, and general secretary Dennis Maga said Auckland Transport's transport officers were a good safety measure, but more needed to be done.
"We've been discussing about having a cage or shield for drivers, but the concern of our members is that, even if ever there's a shield, we have to protect passengers as well," he said.
"They cannot help themselves, but to find a way how to respond if ever there is some violence happening within the bus."
He said they were keen to see the impact more transport officers would have across the public transport network.
"We always believe that safe drivers, safe passengers, and better transport should be the focus of this government and the council, so we're looking forward to seeing the outcome to see the outcome of having nine transport officials to monitor the safety of the public."
