Create laws that forbid dangerous weapons to be brought onto public transport

I am the victim of the brutal attack using a metal rod that happened on 72c bus on Friday 28th June. I have no interaction with the criminal before the attack and the attack happened very fast, and the criminal is verbally abusing me in the mean time. Three teeth of mine is completely knocked off and further three is needed for repair. This attack not only causes physical but also mental damage on me.

The criminal did not buy a ticket and is banging the floor of the bus with her metal rod, verbally abusing the driver and showing threat to other passengers that a passenger in front of me had to get out of her seat and move to a safer place. A moment after this that woman (the criminal) began to verbally abuse me and starts attacking me. Immediately after the attack I try to grab the metal rod the criminal used to hurt me and tries to control her with the help of another 75-year-old gentleman in order to make sure no more people is hurt and to protect the safety of others. After I grabbed the metal rod from the criminal's hand I shouted at the driver to not to open the door in order to control the criminal and send her to the police, however the driver still decides to open the door and let the criminal ran away without any kind of resistance. After this I have to call the police myself regardless of the missing teeth and blood in my mouth, the driver even told me to get out of the bus. Throughout the entire incident, the driver did not offer me any kind of help nor duty of care in his own work area and his own work time.

Now I want to ask a few questions: how can the driver allow such dangerous weapons to be brought on the bus? The metal rod is more than a metre long so the driver definitely can see it, why didn't the driver tell the criminal to keep that off the bus? How can the driver not offer any support when such a tragedy happen on his bus? How can you let the woman stay on the bus when she already showed threats to other passengers? Is this how auckland transport protects its passengers? Is this how Aotearoa New Zealand government protects its residents?

IT IS THE ACTION OF THE CRIMINAL AND AUCKLAND TRANSPORT'S ALLOWANCE OF HER ACTION THAT MADE THIS TRAGEDY HAPPEN TODAY!

We have to have laws preventing this from happening more. This must be done. This time the criminal is using metal rod, next time it might be a knife. This time the victim is me, a 6''2 male who has ability to fight back, next time the victim might be someone who has no ability to protect themselves. As students, we have to take bus to school every single day, if our basic safety cannot be guaranteed on the bus, we have to face dangers like this every single day. I now have very deep fear in taking public transport, but using public transport to go to school is neccesary for me. This means I have to face that fear every single day from now on until laws that can protect us appear. These laws have to be set clear and fast.

Moreoever, we need trainings for bus drivers about incidents like this. Can you imagine an adult just sitting there watching a 16-year-old student getting attacked and do nothing? Not even calling the police for me? He even told me to get out of the bus at panmure station and is wiping the blood on the floor. Every single person who has little knowledge in laws knows that we have to protect the scene and keep it until the police comes. How can a person just stands up and starts destroying the scenes? The only explanation for this is lack of training and lack of basic knowledge of laws, all these needs Auckland Transport to train every bus driver before they can sit on the driver's seat.

As a conclusion, I ask the government to have laws forbidding dangerous tools that can be used as a weapon (for example metal rod, knife, etc.) and for Auckland Transport to have trainings for bus drivers and make sure they can carry out their basic duty of care when incidents like this happen next time.

YiMing Luo    Contact the author of the petition