Passenger Stuart Dawson claims the cyclist refused to move and hurled abuse at the train manager. Photo / Supplied
Passenger Stuart Dawson claims the cyclist refused to move and hurled abuse at the train manager. Photo / Supplied
An 'aggressive' cyclist on an Auckland train has caused an uproar after he laid down on four priority seats, preventing a mum and baby from having a seat.
On Wednesday passenger Stuart Dawson boarded the Onehunga line to the CBD at 7.18am, but when he got on the packed trainhe came across a cyclist having a sleep across four seats.
At the very next station a mother with her baby and pram boarded the train and had nowhere to sit.
Dawson managed to discreetly get the train manager's attention and point him to the situation unfolding.
But when the train manager approached the cyclist to move, he became aggressive, refusing to move and hurled abuse at the manager.
"He went up and asked the cyclist to move and the guy just said "get f****d". He said that a couple of times. The manager then said, 'if you continue doing that I'll let you off at the next stop'.
"The cyclist repeated what he said, saying 'f**k off' and went back to sleep. The manager then walked off and did absolutely nothing."
According to Dawson, the carriage only had a couple of seats spare, not enough for the mum and her baby to park their pram without getting in the way of other passengers.
He said the mother looked put out by the cyclist's actions, leading to the train manager approaching the woman.
Passenger Stuart Dawson claims the cyclist refused to move and hurled abuse at the train manager. Photo / Supplied
"The train manager actually went up to ask her if she was okay. She wasn't happy and looked rather uncomfortable.
"He [the cyclist] was not a nice character to deal with."
According to Dawson, the mother and baby catch the same train as him most days, but he hasn't seen them since the incident.
"I guess the passenger may have been put off catching that particular train."
He has called for more security and staff on trains and believes managers should be enforcing rules more often.
Transdev, who manage the trains on the Auckland Transport lines, told the Herald they were aware of the incident and believe staff handled it in a professional manner.
"Antisocial behaviour like this is uncommon on rail services. We take every precaution to ensure the safety of our customers," a Transdev spokesperson told the Herald.
"These include conflict resolution and customer service training for our staff. Train managers are supported by staff in other roles in deterring antisocial behaviour.
"Onboard staff will call police when an incident justifies this.
"We are pleased the Train manager followed her training by checking on the needs of the affected customer, and that the situation did not escalate."
However, Dawson says the manager should have done more to ensure passenger safety and believes there are too many incidents like these happening on our trains.
"I just don't know why the train manager would threaten to kick him off but then do nothing about it.
"I've heard of other incidents where passengers have been intimidated. They need more security or staff members who travel on their services."
