Meet Mouena – the pro driver who is sunny no matter the weather
You hear Metlink bus driver Mouena before you see her, with a joyfully infectious laugh and friendly warmth that emanates from the driver seat.
“My friend calls me a kookaburra,” she says, before bursting out laughing and proving the nickname is a good one.
As someone who enjoys meeting people, it is the social aspect of bus driving that Mouena loves.
“I love communicating with people, it makes my day brighter. You can have a little chat and a laugh with passengers.”
She moved to New Zealand from Upolu, Samoa in 1989, first to Auckland before making Wellington her home.
“I’m a kiwi,” she smiles.
Driving buses for Metlink operator Tranzurban for six years now has meant Mouena’s very comfortable at the helm of large vehicles, even on Wellington’s tight roads.
“My favourite route to drive is the 24, from Miramar to Johnsonville. It’s so beautiful, I love the view, right up the top of the hills where you can look out across the skyline.
I get a lot of compliments from passengers on that route saying, “Wow how do you do that?” They say I’m a very smooth driver, getting around tight corners.
“I also like helping passengers like visitors to the city and giving them advice when they aren’t sure which bus to catch.”
The tempestuous Wellington conditions don’t seem to faze her either. Mouena’s got her Class 4 license meaning she can drive the double decker buses, and she relishes the opportunity.
Speaking to her during a week of severe weather warnings and winds that are high even by the city’s standards, she says driving a double decker that morning was no problem.
Even when she’s not working, she still takes the bus to get into town.
“Why would I take my car? I can just jump on the bus!”
When asked if she watches the other drivers when she’s a passenger, “Sometimes…” she giggles. “No, most of the time I say hi and let them do their job.”
Ngā mihi nui Mouena for all your mahi!