Hikitia – “Seeing Passengers as Whānau”

“I’m from the Bay of Islands. I’m Ngāpuhi, from up North,” says Hikitia. “My studies brought me here almost 35 years ago, and I’ve called this place home ever since.”

When she first stepped into the driver’s seat, her family worried. “One of the main concerns for not only my immediate family but also some of my peers was safety,” she says. “There’ve always been stories about driver safety. But it’s been pretty good so far”

She credits her fellow drivers for helping her feel confident early on. “Other drivers gave me some really good pointers—how to make yourself safe in the community, especially at night. Things like not waiting too long at stops, keeping your door closed while you’re waiting, and not carrying much cash. It all helps. It’s a shame that we have to talk about it at all. But we do.”

Respect on the road

Over time, she’s noticed a shift in how people interact. “I think there’s a little bit more respect now. I feel that as a driver, and probably more as a woman – and as a Māori woman too.”
“Sometimes you can see someone come through the door who looks like they’ve had a rough day,” she says. “But when they step on and see who’s driving, you can feel the energy change a bit. I think there’s a sense of mutual respect there.”

That sense of care runs deep. “We’re quite nurturing people,” she says. “I always think of my passengers as my own whānau – my grandparents, my parents, my nieces, my son. So I treat them the same way. I make sure they get on and off the bus safely. I just treat them as if they were my own family.”

“Thanks, driver.”

The moments that stay with her are often small. “I had an older gentleman one day come up to the front as he was getting off,” she says. “He tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘I’ve got to tell you something – you’re one of the best drivers. Very smooth driving.’ I thought, wow, that’s so cool.”

“I was surprised by how many passengers compliment me on my driving. I take pride in that. But what really surprised me was how many people actually say thank you. Honestly, the number’s quite high – most of them say good morning when they get on and thank you when they get off. Even teenagers. The ones who don’t usually have headphones on,” she laughs.

For Hikitia, those gestures matter. “I’m a bit old-fashioned like that. I’d love to see more young people showing courtesy – letting elderly people on first, saying hello or thank you. Sometimes it’s so quiet on the bus and I wonder what all the kids are doing – they’re on their devices of course. People think they’re just catching a bus, but there are life lessons in there too.”

Family and sport

Outside of work, netball is Hikitia’s go-to. “It’s something I’ve loved since I was six or seven years old. It relaxes me – it’s my first love.”

Much of her time now revolves around her teenage son, Cody. “We had Cody quite late in life,” she says. “He always reminds us of that – he says we had him too late because we didn’t give him any siblings.”

Cody’s into rugby, basketball, and boxing, and Hikitia and her husband are always there cheering him on. “I used to be a video analyst in the netball world,” she says. “Now I use those skills to record and analyse his games and fights. It’s become a bit of a family project.”

“Sometimes the coaching comes from us, but often it’s the other way around. He teaches me, and I love that. I’m always wanting to learn.”

Bus 101

At home, she passes on the same awareness she values on the job. “When Cody started catching the bus, I gave him a bit of ‘Bus 101,’” she says. “Stand on the side of the road, don’t be on your phone, signal properly to the driver. And definitely take your headphones off when you get on – say hello. I told him it’s rude otherwise.”

“When I started driving, he said, ‘Mum, I hope you don’t drive my school bus.’ But sometimes I do end up on his route. He pretends not to like it, but I think secretly he does. His mates all think it’s pretty funny.”

The best view in town

Hikitia enjoys the highlight of her day – watching the sunrise along the bay as she begins her first route.
“Most passengers are respectful,” she says. “And when someone says ‘thanks, driver,’ it might just be two words, but it means a lot. It reminds me that people are good. It’s those small moments that make this job special.”

Kia ora Hikitia!

Hikitia joined Kinetic as part of its Women Up Front Trainee Bus Driver programme designed to increase the number of females pursuing careers as drivers. Women currently represent 18% of Kinetic’s driver group and the organisation has set a target of 50% by 2030 across its workforce. Find out more here.