Shortage of bus drivers impact services in Western Bay of Plenty

166 more drivers are needed to fully operate the new schedule. Photo / George Novak

A shortage of bus drivers is impacting services on the new Tauranga Western Bay of Plenty bus network with Bay of Plenty Regional Council likely to review weekend services until driver numbers increase.

166 drivers are needed to fully operate the new schedule and contractor NZ Bus is currently 25 per cent short of this target.

The shortfall has been dealt with by bringing NZ Bus drivers from Auckland to help out in Tauranga.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Public Transport Committee Chairman Lyall Thurston said it was disappointing some services had been compromised because of a lack of drivers.

"We are sorry to those of our customers that have been affected and we are working with the contractor to find an interim solution," Thurston said.

"We may have to reduce the frequency of buses we are running over the weekend until the problem is fixed."

On average, five trips from Monday to Friday had been missed since the rollout, however, the weekends were seeing the biggest disruptions.

There could be further disruptions over the coming weekends.

NZ Bus Chief Operating Officer, Claire Neville, said that NZ Bus was pleased with the overall implementation of the new business, but despite a recruitment campaign that started well before the launch on December 10, they hadn't had the number of applicants they had hoped for.

"A shortage of bus drivers is a national problem and not isolated to the Western Bay of Plenty. It reflects the difficult labour market nationwide, with effectively zero unemployment."

Bay of Plenty Regional Council had underlined that school bus trips would be prioritised over urban trips.