A frustrated Wellington motorist took matters into his own hands when passenger rail protesters blocked part of Transmission Gully, with his dashcam capturing it all on camera.
Wayne Hirst "was cruising into work" from Levin to Wellington on Wednesday while listening to popular audiobook 'The Heroes' by Joe Abercrombie.
Hirst told Newshub it was a "good book" and he was enjoying his commute - until two hire vans stopped in both southbound lanes on Transmission Gully and turned on their hazard lights.
"At first I thought it was roadworkers because there were road works on the northbound lanes, so I was expecting someone to jump out and start putting some signs up."
But Hirst said when protesters began filing out of the two hire vans with their 'Restore Passenger Rail' sign, he knew they weren't roadworkers.
"I hung out [the window] and said 'look I've got to get work dude, there's no way I've got time for this stuff' and he just completely ignored me, which probably sort of got me a little angrier."
And as Hirst's temper began to heat up, his dashcam continued to roll.
"Oi you can f*** off out of the way, I've got work to do," he can be heard saying to a protester.
But the Restore Passenger Rail protesters weren't going to budge.
"The guy left his door open. I knew then that was my opportunity to jump in the van and drive it forward and get it out of the way," Hirst told Newshub.
Once Hirst moved the hire van to the side of the road, the footage shows him running back to his car.
Some protesters stood close to Hirst's car - too close for him to make it through safely. His dashcam footage shows him pushing the protesters out of the way before he returned to his vehicle.
"I'm not kidding cowboys you better f*** off out of the way."
The protesters reluctantly moved out of the way and Hirst made it to work, and so did commuter Tayla Capazorio.
"I managed to make it out. Someone in front of me jumped into their van and moved it. He and I were the only ones to make it past before they coned off the road," she told Newshub on Wednesday.
Police later arrested 11 protesters and charged them with trespass and criminal nuisance.
It comes after a week of protests last week and again on Tuesday, where protesters were arrested for abseiling from the top of the Mt Victoria Tunnel, forcing its closure.
A spokesperson for Restore Passenger Rail Rosemary Penwarden the group is calling on the Government to take urgent climate action.
"The Government’s failure to respond to the climate crisis is an act of complete neglect for future generations. Restoring an affordable network of passenger trains in Aotearoa is a basic first step."
Penwarden added motorways like Transmission Gully have been prioritised over affordable public transport.
"For $1.5 billion we could electrify most of the North Island rail tracks and buy the electric trains to run on them."
"Transmission Gully encourages more and faster cars and discourages public transport. Affordable passenger rail will bring emissions down, bring us together, get us out of cars and planes and make life easier and more affordable for all," Penwarden added.
James Cockle who blocked parts of Transmission Gully acknowledged the group's actions were "extreme but so is the total breakdown of the earth’s climate system".
"The Government’s inaction on climate change risks all the people and places that we love. We need them to do the right thing."
