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Following recent assaults on Hibiscus Coast bus services, Coast resident Lucy Skott has launched a community initiative aimed at improving public transport safety.
She set up a Facebook group, HBC Bus Safety Community Action Group, in early December 2025 after her son was assaulted by a group of teenagers on the NX1 bus (Hibiscus Matters, December 15, 2025). What began as a personal response has since grown into a forum of more than 400 members, including parents, students and daily commuters.
“This is not about blame or finger-pointing,” Skott says. “It’s about building a clear, evidence-based picture of what’s actually happening on our buses and at our stations, so conversations about safety are grounded in facts, not rumours or one-off stories.”
Members are encouraged to share their experiences of bus safety issues, whether as passengers, pedestrians, cyclists or drivers. Skott says even minor or isolated incidents can help build a clearer picture of local conditions.
A recurring theme among contributors is reluctance to report incidents, often due to intimidation, uncertainty about reporting processes or a belief that complaints will not lead to change. As a result, some residents are choosing to avoid public transport altogether.
The group operates as a community forum, with Skott moderating discussions to ensure respectful engagement. She says she does not speak on behalf of individual members or present the group as an official authority.
One of the group’s main goals is improving the quality of safety data. In cases where incidents have been reported to Police but not to Auckland Transport (AT), Skott has submitted reports to AT to ensure they are included in official records.
“Without correct and consistent reporting, the true scale of the issue is easily underestimated,” she says.
Skott has written to several Ministers and plans to seek meetings with AT and government representatives once sufficient data has been gathered.
“My aim is to build data as evidence, not to name or shame individuals,” she says. “By identifying statistics, patterns and trends, concerns can no longer be dismissed as isolated events.”
She hopes the initiative will raise awareness and provide support for others facing similar situations.
“I posted online asking for witnesses, and the response was overwhelming,” she says. “People shared story after story of similar experiences. That’s when I realised this is not an isolated event. It’s a pattern.”
