A driver for the Go Bus coach company is facing drink-driving charges after being pulled over in central Hastings yesterday while on the job delivering passengers. A police patrol intercepted the bus, with six passengers aboard, on Karamu Rd and with lights flashing indicated for the driver to park it up. Thebus had been on a scheduled Napier to Hastings service and was stopped about 5.45pm - after police received calls from passengers who had travelled on it earlier. They were "concerned" about the driver, a police spokesperson said. After the driver pulled up, the remaining passengers were stunned to see him undergo a roadside breath test which resulted in a positive reading. He was advised by one of the officers he would not be driving the bus any further and would be travelling with them, to the Hastings Police Station, instead. At the station, a breath-alcohol test allegedly confirmed he was over the legal limit and he underwent a blood test. The driver's licence was suspended with police awaiting confirmed results before laying charges. One passenger, a Hastings woman who did not wish to be named, described the situation as "bizarre". "I had noticed he was speeding a bit and sometimes swayed across the white line. He was running about 15 minutes late - I thought he was just trying to catch up the time." She said when the police pulled the driver over, she thought he had been caught speeding. But then she and the other passengers watched as police carried out a drink-driving test. "We were stunned ... we just looked at each other." She said the driver was calm and complied with police. It was only later she realised just how serious the situation had been. "We could have hit something and there are no seat belts in buses." One of the officers who arrived at the scene, aware the passengers had been left stranded and who possessed an appropriate licence, then took on the temporary job of bus driver - delivering the passengers and getting the bus off the road. A Hawke's Bay depot spokesman for Waikato-based Go Bus company was unable to comment and said the company would be issuing a statement. It was not available at the time of going to press. A senior member of management arrived in Hastings this morning to speak to police about the incident.
