Rotorua bus driver shares experience of aggravated robbery on board his bus

A young male suspect presented a knife to the victim, a bus driver, before he stole the money box Photo / Supplied

A Rotorua bus driver has shared the harrowing story of being attacked by a knife-wielding robber, and says he was lucky to escape uninjured.

An interview with the driver aired on police television series Ten 7 Aotearoa on Thursday night.

Rotorua police Sergeant Sam Parata delved into the details of the aggravated robbery.

He alleged a young male suspect, whose identity is unknown, presented a knife to the victim, a bus driver, before he stole the money box.

He had been picked up on Wrigley Rd in Fordlands at 7.20am on July 5.

The bus driver, whose identity was obscured by the programme, described the shocking actions.

"I felt a sharp metal object up and against my neck, he said, 'put it in there, put it in there'."

CCTV footage showed the male suspect paying his fare before sitting down behind the driver.

He was the lone passenger.

Gloved, masked, and his hood high, the suspect put his bag on the floor. He waited one stop before pressing the stop button to be let out on Ford Rd.

The bus driver did think this was strange.

"I thought maybe he left his lunch at home, or his phone or something," he said.

Once the bus stopped, the passenger could be seen approaching the driver and pushing what was allegedly a knife to his neck, demanding money.

Shouts and swearing can be heard as the driver attempted to push the knife away from himself, while the suspect said, "put it in there", nodding his head towards his bag.

"We had a tug of war", the driver said.

The passenger lunged forward, allegedly attempting to slice the driver's arm and jumped from the bus. He ran back towards where the bus had come from.

"I'm lucky he didn't make contact," the driver said.

The suspect paid his fare and boarded the bus before the attack. Photo / Supplied

He believed the suspect was most likely local, and would have had a lot of coins after the robbery.

He was about 171cm tall and was wearing a black jacket, black pants and a black backpack. He was about 20 years old.

"It has changed my perspective ... but it will never ever take the passion away what I have to driving buses and transporting locals to town and to work and to school," the driver said.

"This guy will never take that away from me."

Yesterday afternoon, police said there was no update on the case.

A Rotorua bus driver advocate previously spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post about the incident and said the behaviour of people in some pockets in society was rapidly deteriorating and she was worried that a bus driver will be seriously hurt.

The driver advocate, who cannot be named, said the robbery was, in her view, an escalation of abuse and assaults local drivers were already experiencing, "especially when you have people who are struggling".

"People who are on drugs - not saying this particular person was - but when they become desperate for money, they will do desperate things," she said.

"Bus drivers in Rotorua have been assaulted before but never with a weapon. This has been happening for about two or three years but hasn't been widely reported. Certainly, people see bus drivers as a source of easy cash."

The driver advocate said she felt bus drivers may need perspex cages in future, likening such a transition to that of bank tellers who now operated in similar environments.

"Caging the drivers is a horrible thing to have to say but that's what I think," she said.

"We all want to go home safe at the end of the day."

Call Ten 7 Aotearoa on 0800 107 4636 if you have information that can help.