'Crazy' bus driver ploughs on through flood

An Auckland bus driver has been labelled “crazy” for taking passengers through one of the areas worst hit by this morning’s deluge after video emerged of the bus driving through deep floodwaters in Onehunga.

The video, shared by Maungakiekie Tamaki Local Board member Debbie Burrows, shows the bus making its way down Beachcroft Ave past cars submerged by the floods that rose quickly after heavy rains lashed the city again early this morning.

Passengers can be seen standing inside the bus to escape water flowing through as the driver sits barely above the level of the wave pushed out by his near-amphibious vehicle.

Incredulous social media users asked why the driver chose to risk entering the water.

“Why was that bus driver driving into that water?” one asked. “All that driver has done is put all the passengers’ lives at risk.”

“That bus driver should be fired,” another wrote. “Putting people at risk driving through that flooded piece of road. Crazy.”

Some praised the driver’s dedication to the timetable, pointing out that many essential workers relied on public transport this morning for their commute.

“Looks like the bus drivers are working harder than the mayor to keep the city running,” another joked.

The route taken by the driver was later closed by Auckland Transport.