Police have charged a man following an assault on a bus driver at the weekend.

On Saturday, 7 September, a bus travelling through Avondale stopped on Great North Road to pick up passengers.

One of those boarding was attempting to travel free of charge, and was challenged by the bus driver.

During the course of this interaction, the bus driver was allegedly assaulted and the offender fled on foot.

Inspector Wayne Kitcher, Area Prevention Manager for Auckland City West Police, says the offender has been apprehended and will be appearing court later this week.

“One of our frontline units was travelling through the Avondale township on Sunday, when they noticed a man matching the description of the offender,” he says.

The unit quickly turned around to stop the man.

“On seeing Police, he attempted to evade staff by boarding a nearby bus and hiding down the back,” Inspector Kitcher says.

“Our staff boarded and arrested the man without further incident.”

The 36-year-old West Harbour man has been charged with assault, and will appear in the Auckland District Court on 13 September.

Inspector Kitcher says: “We have no tolerance for violence taking place on public transport whatsoever, and we will continue to prosecute those offenders.

“No one deserves to come to work and be subjected to harm just for doing their job.”

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