Hawke's Bay Regional council apologises for bus staff shortages

GoBay has cancelled another 30 scheduled trips in the past seven days due to the bus driver shortage. Photo / Warren Buckland

Hawke's Bay Regional council has apologised for bus staff shortages that have led to frequent cancellations.

Policy and regulation group manager Katrina Brunton said in a statement that the bus driver shortage had caused the bus service to be disrupted and unreliable.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has been causing our community. We are working hard to remedy this issue and provide a reliable bus service."

She said due to the driver shortage, GoBay will run a "Saturday Plus" timetable on weekdays from Monday February 14, until further notice.

"The Saturday Plus timetable includes the normal Saturday services plus services for commuters (10 and 11) and school students. This means services will be more reliable, though less frequent."

In the past seven days, another 30 scheduled bus trips have been cancelled according to the GoBay Hawke's Bay Facebook page, because of the driver shortage, drivers being sick or getting Covid tests.