WATCH: Milford Sound tour company responds after bus driver caught texting

Kiwi sightseeing company Great Sights has revealed it will reopen an investigation into one of its bus drivers after footage of the employee texting behind the wheel went viral.

A Reddit post shared on the r/newzealand subreddit yesterday showed a driver steering the huge tour bus' wheel with their elbows while they used both hands to hold their cellphone in front of their face. 

Cars can be seen whizzing by in the opposite direction as the driver casually corrects their lane position without looking up from the screen. 

The post was titled "Catch the bus to Milford Sound, they said, it'll be much safer they said", and quickly drew outrage from other Redditors.

"Given the fact that the passengers are probably not wearing seatbelts, and it's a bus, so the occupants in the car(s) in the opposite direction will be stuffed," one comment read. 

This is all awful and should be reported.

"Holy sh*t, this is mad," said another. Some referenced the nature of the road to Milford Sound, mentioning the "winding road, super high up, strict turns, no railings". 

"With this person at the wheel? 100% nah." 

"That's so dangerous, you are responsible for your passengers' safety for one, this person needs to be disciplined with a warning at least," wrote a third. 

Rova reached out to Great Sights for comment after the original poster named the company in the comments, alleging the driver worked for them on the service that runs between Queenstown and Milford Sound. 

"We are aware of an incident involving one of our drivers that occurred in December 2025, where concerns were raised about unsafe driving behaviour," a representative said in a statement. 

At the time the matter was brought to our attention, it was promptly escalated to the relevant operator, who addressed it according to their internal processes.

Great Sights said it "couldn't comment" on the specific outcome of that investigation, but said they had chosen to reopen their own investigation into this matter "to ensure that all aspects of the incident are thoroughly reviewed and addressed". 

"The safety of our passengers, staff, and other road users remains our highest priority, and we have clear expectations in place for driver conduct at all times," they finished.