With their National Government mates promising to look after them where Auckland public transport is concerned, the pin-striped merchant bankers of Infratil would have been smart to have kept their heads down.

But they couldn't help themselves, arrogantly locking their uppity Auckland bus drivers out of work for the crime of asking for a living wage.

One of the locked-out drivers summed up the issue on television on Friday evening when he put the simple question, if rubbish truck drivers are worth $20 an hour, then why are bus drivers paid only $14 to $17.

Only a few days ago, my bus had to take an unscheduled stop outside the public toilets in Victoria Park. The driver locked his money box then made the long and very public march to spend a proverbial penny. Chances are, he was on a 12-hour plus day as well, having to work a split shift, hanging around in the middle of the day for up to four hours unpaid.

Hard as it might be for the bankers to fathom, the 80,000 passengers inconvenienced by the lockout are sympathetic to the drivers, not to those trying to label them troublemakers.

It's as though with National in power, Infratil and its NZ Bus subsidiary feel they can drop any pretence about which side they're on.

Already, after furious lobbying and legal stalling tactics, the bankers have forced the postponement of any decision on the development of Auckland's long-planned integrated ticketing system, which will enable people to travel the region using various transport modes, on one ticket.

Wellington-based Infratil bid for the job against international competition and lost. Ever since it has been trying every trick in the book to try to reverse that decision.

Infratil also seems to have persuaded the new Government to repeal parts of the landmark Public Transport Management Act. From the end of this year, as old contracts expire, the act will, among other things, force bus operators to open their books to the ratepayers of Auckland to justify the $94 million in annual passenger transport subsidies.

This year, Infratil chief executive Marko Bogoievski told shareholders they "got totally hammered" by the passage of this act. However, Infratil director Tim Brown reassured them that all was not lost. "We've been given assurance by the Government that they will amend it."

Mr Brown added it was up to Infratil to make sure the Government was "kept aware" of this pledge.

Whether the bloody-minded disruption of the travel plans of 80,000 Aucklanders was the cleverest way of keeping Infratil in the Government's eye is a moot point.