There are fewer buses at the Durham St bus stop in Tauranga's CBD amid a driver shortage. Photo / Mead Norton
There are fewer buses at the Durham St bus stop in Tauranga's CBD amid a driver shortage. Photo / Mead Norton
About 50 drivers are needed to fill vacancies on Tauranga's stretched bus service as the sector battles a chronic labour shortage and low pay rates.
It comes as a new report reveals the number of people catching a bus in the past year has dropped by more than 20 per cent.
The reduction is believed to have been prompted by the driver shortage which has been in play since February and was not expected to end until next year at the earliest.
At the same time, city leaders are facing increased pressure to get more people out of cars and onto public transport.
A Bay of Plenty Regional Council boss said he understood there were about 110 drivers working at the moment but that another 50 were needed to fill vacancies.
The council oversees public transport services in the region and has a contract with NZ Bus to provide the Tauranga bus service.
While NZ Bus would not comment on specific driver numbers, chief operating officer Jay Zmijewski confirmed it did not "currently have sufficient drivers" to return to a regular timetable.
"Opportunities in other industries with better pay is the main reason given for driver resignations," he said.
Zmijewski said the company was "working proactively" with the regional council and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to lift driver pay.
"We have also lobbied the Government for changes to immigration rules so that bus drivers can be sourced from overseas, which we are unable to do at present."
Zmijewski said the company believed the driver shortage would last until next year "at least".
NZ Bus prioritised driver health and wellbeing, regardless of the shortage, he said.
Bus driver Bryan Deuchar, who is running in this year's elections for a regional council seat, said the lack of drivers could put the remaining drivers at risk of burnout.
Bus driver and Bay of Plenty Regional Council candidate Bryan Deuchar. Photo / Supplied
Deuchar used to work for NZ Bus.
Asked if drivers were leaving for jobs with better pay elsewhere, Deuchar said "that's certainly happening".
However, he knew of other drivers who became disenfranchised by treatment by some passengers, he said.
Earlier this year, a spate of anti-social and criminal behaviour resulted in bus drivers boycotting specific bus stops after drivers were threatened and at times assaulted.
Deuchar believed drivers should be paid "decent wages".
In his view: "They should pay a wage that would make this bus driving job a viable job for people - a proper career option. Not just a job for retirees or someone who doesn't need full income," he said.
At the moment, NZ Bus drivers are paid $22.75 an hour, the 2021/22 Living Wage.
On September 1, 2022, the Living Wage increased to $23.65 an hour and the drivers' pay is expected to match that as part of the regional council's Long Term Plan 2021-2031.
The transport agency contributes 51 per cent funding to the regional council's Living Wage adjustments.
"They talk about a living wage. It's not a living wage if you are only doing 20 hours a week."
In response to Deuchar's concerns, Zmijewski said bus driving was a genuine career option. The entire Tauranga management team started as drivers and were promoted based on merit, he said.
"NZ Bus is proud of the fact that we promote people from within the organisation for the specific purpose of providing career pathways for bus drivers," he said.
Zmijewski acknowledged the occasions of anti-social or criminal behaviour but there was "a lot of good work" being done by stakeholders such as the regional council and police to address the matter, he said.
A NZ Bus careers open day is being held at its Greerton depot today in a bid to gain more drivers.
Regional council public transport director Greg Campbell said he understood there were about 110 drivers working at the moment but that another 50 were needed to fill vacancies.
The council, along with NZ Bus' new owner Kinetic NZ Holdings, were "committed to a range of measures to address the driver shortages", he said.
This included better pay and discussion about better employment conditions for drivers, Campbell said.
The regional council was also looking into network improvements, considering shifting services between operators, enhancing recruitment and retention of drivers with better training, rewards and recognition, and "lifting the profile of bus drivers by looking into proactive promotional communications", he said.
Asked whether NZ Bus was being penalised by the regional council for not delivering a regular service, as expected, Campbell said the council was "working closely with NZ Bus to agree what is achievable and avoid any contract breaches where possible".
"NZ Bus and council are regularly reviewing the situation with a view to increasing the provision of services as soon as is practicable," Campbell said.
A performance monitoring report presented to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Public Transport Committee on Thursday confirmed a 21.7 per cent drop in patronage on Tauranga's urban buses in 2021/22 compared to the previous year.
The amount of money made was also less than what was budgeted for. Operating revenue was $2.05 million lower than was budgeted for, primarily due to reduced fare earnings.
The report noted the urban bus services remained on a weekend timetable "due to driver availability". It also noted that the council continued to monitor anti-social behaviour across the public transport network. A security presence remains at the Durham St and Farm St bus interchanges between 8am (or 12pm at Farm St) and 8pm daily.
