Who's at fault? Ellen Blake, of Living Streets Aotearoa, blames the bus drivers, but NZTA figures for the past seven years show most of the incidents involving pedestrians and buses in Manners St, Wellington, since 2010 were caused by pedestrian distraction.

Pedestrians mostly have themselves to blame for being hit by buses on a dangerous stretch of road in central Wellington, official figures show.

There have been 27 collisions between vehicles and pedestrians along Manners St in the past seven years, according to data from the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Its list of crash causes shows "pedestrian factors" was the main cause almost 67 per cent of the time.

JAMES PAUL/STUFF Emergency services at the scene of the crash in Wellington's Manners St in July this year.

A Wellington bus industry source said Manners St was a particularly stressful stretch of road for drivers, because people "stepped out without looking" on a daily basis.

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The source said pedestrians were often looking down at their phones, or distracted while talking on them.

"Drivers are taught to scan ahead ... look out for people who might step out.

"It's stressful. Wellington pedestrians need to pay attention."

Tim Brown, a former NZ Bus director who was hit by a bus near neighbouring Mercer St in 2012, agreed the accident was his own fault.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Police closed Manners St after a pedestrian was hit by a bus earlier this month, damaging the windscreen.

But he said Wellington City Council had not prioritised pedestrian safety in the central city, and speed limits were still too high.

There was a trade-off between mobility and safety. "My feeling is people look after themselves and it [being hit by the bus] was my fault. But on the other hand, it's definitely clear that pedestrian safety isn't the absolute priority."

Living Streets Aotearoa Wellington walking advocate Ellen Blake said it was "a copout" to lay the blame on pedestrians.

JOEL MAXWELL/STUFF A bus near the intersection of Manners St and Cuba St after two pedestrians were struck in 2015.

"That's not going to help stop the crashes."

Instead, she believed the lowering of speed limits, or the enforcement of existing limits, was needed, and Manners St was overdue for another safety review.

The street, which runs between Willis St and Taranaki St, last saw major changes in late 2010, when the pedestrian mall between Victoria and Cuba streets was transformed into a two-way, bus-only lane.

Since then, arguments have continued that the changes caused major confusions for pedestrians, and that the narrow laneway left little room for error.

"This is the Golden Mile. There's got to be an answer to this. It's not good enough," Blake said.

Wellington district road policing manager Inspector Jan Craig said there had been a general increase in "distracted" pedestrians, who were transfixed by electronic devices.

Cellphones and headphones fuelled people's lack of concentration. "People are busy, we all have a lot of electronic and other distractions, but the old rules haven't changed."

Craig said pedestrians needed to "stop, look both ways, and listen before crossing the road".

NZ Bus southern chief operating officer Tonia Haskell said pedestrian accidents were traumatic events for bus drivers.

She urged pedestrians: "Please be mindful, especially in peak hours."

NZTA's crash analysis system showed 35 different factors involved in the Manners St crashes since 2010. The included alcohol, failure to give way or stop, poor observation, weather, "pedestrian factors", and swerving for pedestrians.

It said it was unclear if the crashes were related only to buses, or to a combination of vehicle types.

Its provisional data for this year showed crash-related accidents had risen to five from only one last year. Three of the accidents were serious.

Wellington City Council confirmed Manners St had been a source of continuing studies, and the council was satisfied the current designs were now adequate to help minimise crashes.

Spokesman Richard MacLean said the council worked with police after every crash-related incident and, since 2010, had improved lines of vision and installed "street furniture" to deter people from stepping out onto the road.

Nearby roads in Wellington's CBD have also been scrutinised after accidents involving buses.

Newtown runner Venessa Green, 40, died in Wellington Hospital in 2011 after she stepped in front of a bus at the intersection of Willis St and Bond St.

In 2015, Stuff reported the Golden Mile, the busy section of road from Courtenay Place to Lambton Quay, had the highest rate of pedestrian-vehicle accidents in New Zealand.

NZTA DATA

* 13 serious and 14 minor-injury crashes since the $11m roading changes to create the Manners St bus lanes between Cuba St and Victoria St in November 2010.

* A decrease in crashes in Manners St since 2012, when six pedestrians were involved in accidents. There was one incident in 2013, three in 2014, four in 2015, and one in 2016.

* Provisional data for 2017 shows five incidents so far.