Bus driver suspended after allegedly kicking mother off bus

Crystelle Bewley claims the bus driver told her she would not move the bus unless she folded the pram down. Photo / Thinkstock

A young woman at the centre of a dispute with a bus driver who allegedly kicked her and her baby off a bus, says she is at ease knowing the driver is off the road for the time being.

Last week Crystelle Bewley from Lower Hutt, Wellington, said she was waiting for a bus home to Wainuiomata, when she alleges a bus driver kicked her and her 10-month-old son TeAriki off a bus, after she refused to fold her pram down.

Ms Bewley said following the incident she waited for on a cold and dark street for her next bus to arrive.

When she boarded the next bus bound for Wainuiomata she told a fellow passenger what had happened, who then informed the driver.

The driver dropped Ms Bewley and her son at their home in Wainuiomata and told her to lay a complaint against the driver.

Following a second dispute with the same driver the following day, Ms Bewley then complained to NZ Bus.

Today, Kevin O'Sullivan from the New Zealand Tramways and Public Transport Union said while the investigation continued, the driver in question would remain suspended.

The bus driver had not been at work since last Wednesday.

He said the investigation would hopefully be completed by the end of the week, and until then, he could not make any comment.

"Once the investigation is complete, we will take it from there whatever the outcome might be."

Ms Bewley said she had received an email from NZ Bus last week, explaining that the driver would be stood down until an investigation was completed.

"They explained to me that the bus driver was still off the roads. I've been catching [the bus] a lot the last week."

She said she felt at ease using the bus knowing the driver was off the road, and hoped NZ Bus would notify her when the investigation came to an end.

NZ Bus were not immediately available for comment.