Council's U-turn over secret meeting on 'anti-social behaviour' at bus hub

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Dunedin News

By reporter Hamish McNeilly:

Anti-social behaviour at Dunedin’s bus hub has led to a secret trial – including on-bus security, a previously public excluded council memo has revealed.

The bus hub on Great King St – the same street as the Dunedin Central Police Station – has made headlines for all the wrong reasons since it opened in March 2019.

The incidents, some of which were caught on video and supplied to Stuff, included a girl kicking a disabled man in the head, and teenage boys fighting each other. One Dunedin high school told its students to arrive at the hub just five minutes before their bus departed.

An agenda item, previously withheld from the public, reveals the council was seeking "approval for the continuation of the Dunedin bus network security trial for the remaining eight months of the 2023-24 financial year".

It noted an increasing volume of antisocial behaviour on the Dunedin bus network has been reported in the media, and to the council throughout the last year.

"The presence of a network of CCTV cameras, and a police station, in the bus hub has not significantly impacted these behaviours," the agenda item said.

"Anti-social behaviour in and around public transport settings is not unique to Dunedin."

Transport staff implemented a trial security presence at the bus hub, beginning December 2022, which has led to a decline incidents.

Further incidents in March 2023, and feedback from transport operators, led to the trial security services extended "to cover a targeted security presence on buses".

"They provide a visible presence to deter bad behaviour and are trained at de-escalation."

The funding allocated for the security trial is due to expire end-November 2023 and the council’s transport staff were seeking an extension of this trial to the end of the financial year.

The cuncil was asked to continue that security trial to June 30, 2024, at a cost of $126,000.

"Withdrawing the on-bus service increases the potential for driver assaults, robberies, and other incidents that have occurred over the past two years or more on the Dunedin network," the agenda said.