Bus driver shortage 'weakest link' in Government emissions plan

Monday, 10 October 2022

A shortage of bus drivers is proving a stumbling block for Government emission reduction targets, the bus sector’s annual conference has been told.

The shortage of bus drivers is the “weakest link” in Government plans to reduce vehicle emissions by boosting public transport use.

That’s according to Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency public transport manager Delany Myers.

Myers addressed the audience at the Bus and Coach Association Conference at Rotorua’s Energy Events Centre on Monday, telling them “the expectations for public transport have never been higher”.

Ethan Hakopa loves driving buses in Wellington. The 23-year-old student has been getting the city's morning commuters where they need to go for a year now – a job that's its own reward, he says.

She said Government wanted to see vehicle emissions reduced by 41 per cent by 2035, and that a shortage of drivers was “one of the biggest challenges we’ve got at the moment to achieving that target under the emissions plan”.

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“It’s the weakest link at the moment to enabling mode shift.”

Myers also said that at present when it came to emissions “they are not going down, they’re going up”.

She said Government wanted to see a 20 per cent reduction in the vehicle kilometres travelled by cars, and that it had set aside $137m over 12 years to decarbonise bus fleets.

A further $61m had been set aside over four years to attract and retain bus drivers, and she said a $50-$70m Transport Choices fund would be used to finance “small things that make public transport more accessible for people”.

The shortage of drivers was also highlighted by Ministry of Transport senior adviser Olivia Kitson.

“The sector needs to support that by making driving an attractive career,” she said.

The trouble attracting and retaining bus drivers was also acknowledged on Monday with an announcement from Bay of Plenty Regional Council that they’d agreed up the pay to $28 an hour.

Public transport director Greg Campbell said the approval to significantly raise the hourly wage was an emphatic step addressing the critical national shortage of bus drivers head on.

“This wage rise will attract new drivers to the role,” he said.

“Across New Zealand, public transport operators are experiencing bus driver shortages and we see this as being a critical step in the right direction towards addressing that.

“We recognise the benefit a reliable, efficient public transport network can make to a town, city and region.

“By making sure we’re keeping up with what is expected and attractive to drivers in pay rates, we are confident that we will be able to lift our current recruitment situation, and in turn the contribution our networks make to growing and supporting the Bay of Plenty.”