Extra buses for Wellington after reduced timetable causes commuter chaos

Most Porirua and Wellington City buses were meant to be running at the reduced Saturday timetable for the month of January. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Metlink has been forced to reintroduce more buses to its network early, after operating on the reduced Saturday timetable for all of January clearly became untenable.

The timetable equated to a 20 per cent reduction in services, on top of the more than 200 services already temporarily suspended.

It was designed as a breather as the region continues to struggle with a shortage of 125 bus drivers.

It allowed for holiday leave and vital recruitment and training over January when patronage is generally low.

But as more people returned to work this week, commuter chaos ensued.

One bus stop had about 120 people waiting at it one morning, a number 23 bus to Houghton Bay was full by Willis St last night, while some commuters in Brooklyn gave up altogether and worked from home.

Acting Metlink general manager Tim Shackleton said more services would be added to the temporary timetable ahead of reintroducing the normal timetable at the end of the month.

“Looking at the increasing travel demand across the region, we are putting in additional services from today, with a number of these being charter buses.

“We will be actively reviewing all services to ensure we make the most of the capacity we have as we come toward the end of the holiday period. We are doing everything we can to make sure operators are allocating larger vehicles to the hardest hit routes to ease any overcrowding.”

The extra services are on deck tonight to help cope with the crowd at the Football Ferns game at Sky Stadium, along with extra carriages on trains.

Greater Wellington Regional Council Transport Committee chairman councillor Thomas Nash apologised for the situation.

“We are listening, we know the service is inadequate on certain routes right now, and we are responding with everything we can.”

Nash said there were positive signs the industry may be turning a corner, thanks to a change in immigration settings. Last year it was announced bus and truck drivers will now be able to access a time-limited, two-year residence pathway.

When asked about the driver shortage in Wellington yesterday, NZ Bus chief operating officer Stephen McKeefry said an overseas recruitment campaign has resulted in 100 suitable candidates accepting offers of employment.

Eight new drivers have arrived in the country this week, with approved visas, and will undergo training and the necessary licence requirements.

McKeefry said they should be on the road within two months if there is no delay with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s licence processing.

A further 29 overseas driver candidates are awaiting visa approval and if successful, will arrive in Wellington in coming weeks to start their induction, McKeefry said.

He said NZ Bus hoped to have two cohorts of overseas drivers in training every month for the next three months.

The company was increasing domestic recruitment in the Wellington region too, McKeefry said.

The Government has also announced $61 million to lift driver pay rates.

This is expected to lift driver wages in Wellington to $30 an hour this year after Greater Wellington Regional Council already lifted them to $27 an hour in 2021.