Woman allegedly attacked on West Auckland bus as driver unaware

A woman was allegedly attacked by a group on a popular West Auckland bus route while the driver remained completely unaware.

The Herald understands the female passenger on the way to work was attacked by a group about midday yesterday on a key West Auckland bus route.

It is understood that the assault at the back of the bus was “unprovoked”.

An Auckland Transport (AT) spokesperson said they were aware of the incident.

“The driver was unaware of the altercation that took place in the back of the bus, and it was brought to the attention of the driver at the end of the trip,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the driver offered to call an ambulance, but the customer refused.

AT said the bus operator (Kinetic) will be reviewing the CCTV footage from the incident and will be assisting the police with their inquiries.

AT said the police responded and will be investigating.

Recent public transport attacks

This incident comes after several recent Auckland bus attacks, including one where a man was stabbed to death.

Early last month, 59-year-old Sefo Leger died after an alleged “unprovoked attack” on the No 76 bus as it travelled from Glen Innes towards Ōrākei.

Police at Fenchurch St, Glenn Innes, following a fatal knife attack. Photo / Michael Craig

This knife attack involved an assault on two separate people at different times on the same bus journey.

Just this week, an Auckland bus driver was sprayed with a fire extinguisher by an “aggressive” passenger, police said.

The alleged assault happened aboard the 27H bus south of Mt Eden Rd near Mt Eden Village, about 6pm on Tuesday.

In northern Auckland, multiple unprovoked assaults have occurred in recent months by young people.

In one of the incidents last month, a 16-year-old boy was allegedly violently attacked on an NX1 bus from Albany to the Hibiscus Coast, and was left terrified after he was repeatedly punched in the face.

AT data revealed that hundreds of people have reported violent incidents on services between November 2023 and November 2025.

On bus and ferry services alone, there were 256 records of abuse, 209 of assault and 286 of injury.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.