Act Party leader and by-election candidate call for Tauranga bus ban for troublemakers

Act party's byelection candidate Cameron Luxton chatting to Bethlehem resident Joy Poulgrain at the Willow St bus interchange about the bus driver boycott. Photo / Sandra Conchie

Act Party Tauranga by-election candidate Cameron Luxton says young people who cause trouble at the Willow St bus stop should be banned from using the buses for a month.

Luxton made the comments alongside party leader David Seymour during a media stand-up on the corner of Wharf and Willow streets yesterday.

Luxton said youth crime at Tauranga's Willow St bus stop was out of control.

"We can't let this continue. Act leader David Seymour and I are calling on the council to ban anyone who acts this way from taking the bus for a month."

Their comments came on the heels of a decision by Tauranga bus drivers to boycott three bus stops amid safety fears after incidents of violence and aggression from young people, notably at the Willow St interchange.

This included a young man being arrested on May 8 for possession of a homemade taser, which followed vandalism of the Willow St public toilets and a brawl on April 30.

The boycott came into force on May 6 and involves drivers not stopping at Willow St, Bayfair, and 217 Maunganui Rd stops if they see known young people in the area.

The issue of a spate of young children and teens getting involved in ram-raids and thefts of cars which had also daily hit the national headlines was also raised at the meeting.

Seymour said the solution to this sort of bad behaviour was "simple and practical" as imposing serious consequences for kids who stepped out of line.

When it came to youth crime there were some "pretty simple things" that needed to be addressed, he said.

"Like dealing with the kids getting into trouble while out of school uniform but there is no truancy officer to get them back to school.

"Then we hear that the Government cut the youth aid policing budget by $10 million last year when we know intensely working with the kids is the number one thing that can make a difference.

"If we can't get the Willow St and Wharf St bus stop sorted out then I don't think we have a lot of agency [ability to achieve control] to make Tauranga a better place for people to grow up, as kids in this country.

"We need to start funding schools for their attendance numbers, not enrolments. There needs to be a real incentive for schools to get more kids back to school."

Bethlehem resident Joy Poulgrain said the situation that led to the boycott was "absolutely terrible".

"I feel so sorry for the bus drivers, they shouldn't have put up with this and there needs to be a greater level of policing of this behaviour to keep these young people in line."

A Year 13 Otumoetai College student waiting for a bus at the Willow St interchange said she felt sorry for the bus drivers who had been subjected to threats and intimidation.

"Most of the bad behaviour I have seen is from young people in school uniforms.

"The police cannot be at every bus stop so maybe it's time that we have security guards travelling on the buses which visit our more populated bus stops."