Police issued 178 summonses and 52 verbal warnings to minibus passengers and 11 fixed penalty tickets to drivers in a citywide operation to enforce seatbelt wearing yesterday.

From January to September there were 792 traffic accidents involving public minibuses, down 0.3% on the same period last year. Casualty numbers also fell to 1,226, down 5.4% on last year.

Passengers and drivers not wearing seatbelts on minibuses face three months' jail and a $5,000 fine.