Alarming footage has surfaced of an InterCity bus driver using his phone while driving despite carrying passengers.
Footage taken by a young man on board shows the driver holding the wheel and looking down at his phone for long periods, despite multiple oncoming vehicles.
The footage was taken on an InterCity bus from Invercargill to Christchurch on October 9. When a passenger realised what the driver was doing he filmed it and sent it to his mother.
His mother says she can't believe the driver's selfishness and watching the video left her "absolutely terrified" for her son's life.
"It was affecting the driver - you can see when he was looking down he didn't seem to be in full control of the bus," she told Newshub.
"It's a terrifying feeling to think someone is doing this on a huge bus. Those roads are very windy and there's a lot of uphills and downhills and a lot of accidents on those hills.
"I could not believe the selfishness of the driver in charge of all those people's lives and my son being on the bus and sitting up front - absolutely terrified."
The woman called InterCity straight away - but she's been left unhappy with their response.
"I was horrified so I called the bus company but they didn't seem too bothered. They said they're ringing him and telling him to stop."
She then sent a written complaint. A spokesperson confirmed to Newshub the company was aware of this complaint and an internal investigation is underway.
"As the safety of passengers and all other road users is of paramount importance to InterCity, we have the expectation that our drivers will drive in a safe and professional manner at all times and your comments have been forwarded onto the operations manager to address with the driver concerned," a customer service representative told the woman in a written response.
"The operations manager has advised that the driver will be spoken to concerning the issues you have raised, and I can assure you the appropriate action will be taken."
The woman wants to make sure this never occurs again.
"Let's hope we never see it again or we don't see an accident on a bus because of the driver texting."
