They ran to the back of the bus, where they continued yelling and swearing at the school girls.
“Do you think you’re funny?” the female assailant said before kicking both girls in the head.
One of the victims stood up to run and her attacker raised her fists before the bus started to move.
That’s when the offenders ran to the front of the bus, where one of them attacked the driver and threatened to vomit on him unless he let them off.
The driver opened the doors and they were gone.
Left in shock by the random nature of the violent attack, the girls giggled in an attempt not to cry.
The mother of one of the girls told the Herald the attack, which took place the same day a man was killed at the Albany bus station, left her girls confused and shaken.
The pair, who did not want to be identified, got off at Sylvia Park and ran to the toilets to call her.
Both girls were left with headaches and some bruising, “but it’s one of those things that it could have been a lot worse”, the mother said.
“They just obviously took my daughter’s friend looking at them and smiling and took it the wrong way - I don’t know,” she said.
“But it doesn’t give you the right to run on to a bus and do that.”
She said the girls were physically fine, but the attack had made both her and her daughter wary of catching the bus.
“I had to leave work early this week to go get her from school after her exams are finished, because I’m also just not comfortable saying, ‘Yeah, jump on the bus home’.
“Your kids should be able to go and get on a bus and get home from school or go to a mall.”
The girl’s mother was also disappointed with the lack of action from the bus driver.
“The bus driver didn’t even ask the girls if they were okay,” she said.
“He 100 per cent saw what was happening. Is there not some type of policy that if you see an assault on your bus, you have to report it or do something?”
The two men sitting in front of the girls did not react or check if the girls were all right either.
“I think everybody, especially in Auckland at the moment, it’s like, ‘Keep your head down if you see something’. But, if you saw anything like that happen - at least ask if they are okay.”
Auckland Transport said they took any incident like this seriously and had reviewed CCTV footage from the bus and followed up with the operator.
“In our discussions with the bus operator about this incident, we’ll reiterate our expectation that drivers check in to see whether passengers are okay in the rare event of anti-social behaviour taking place on board,” an Auckland Transport spokesman said.
“The safety of our passengers and staff is our top priority, and we are working closely with police to make sure that public transport remains a safe and secure way for Aucklanders to travel.”
The girls reported the assault to the police the same afternoon it happened. However, the girls decided they didn’t want to get drawn into a long police investigation.
“You just kind of get the feeling that they’re dealing with this and a lot worse all of the time. So even if they were able to identify these people or these people were known to police, it can be a really long process for any kind of justice or charges,” she said.
“It’s sad that as a society we’ve got to that point that unless there are really physically bad injuries, [you don’t] think, ‘I’ll get the police involved’.”
A police spokeswoman said they received a report in relation to the matter and enquiries remained ongoing.
“Police have zero tolerance for any type of violence in the community, and encourage anyone who feels concerned or who finds themselves in a situation where they feel unsafe to contact police.”
Amy Wiggins is an Auckland-based reporter who covers education. She joined the Herald in 2017 and has worked as a journalist for 12 years.
