That immigration announcement was made late last year when Auckland’s driver shortage was at its peak of about 570 bus drivers.
Auckland Transport (AT) said the shortfall had nearly halved to about 295 drivers, thanks to the likes of Kinetic.
Based on that level of recruitment, AT expects to get back to operating reliable bus services in the city by the end of September.
Head of Kinetic in New Zealand Calum Haslop said after the “enormous effort” of recruitment teams, they were now in discussions with regional councils and AT on dates for the return of full timetables.
Haslop acknowledged training was important and licences and permits could take some time, but reported authorities like Waka Kotahi and VTNZ were mindful of the need to get more bus drivers on the road.
Over the past month, NZ Bus and Go Bus in Wellington and Auckland have also started staff shuttle services, making it easier and cheaper to get to and from work, Haslop said.
The Auckland staff shuttle operates from key locations on the North Shore and runs over the Harbour Bridge to the downtown CBD depot.
The Wellington staff shuttle spans almost 40km, operating between Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, stopping at the Kaiwharawhara depot before continuing to the main depot in Kilbirnie.
“If we’re going to attract and retain people who are passionate about a long-term career in the transport industry, we need to be thinking about benefits like this that make working with us an attractive and sustainable option,” Haslop said.
Kinetic was also helping migrants with their accommodation, banking, tax and transport needs until they had a chance to make their own arrangements, Haslop said.
AT metro optimisation manager Richard Harrison said tremendous progress has been made with recruitment campaigns but warned there hadn’t been an even reduction in the driver shortage across Auckland.
“Other operators and depots are still struggling with a shortfall, which means that some of our services continue to be harder hit by the driver shortage.”
High-frequency North Shore services such as the NX1 and NX2 were being harder hit by staff shortages, Harrison said.
AT was working with the relevant operators to recruit and train new drivers as soon as possible, he said.
Significant wage increases because of Auckland Council and Government funding have also helped with bus driver recruitment and retention.
Harrison said wages for fulltime drivers had increased by more than $8000 a year in the past nine months.
“There’s still a lot more for us to do to lift driver pay to the levels we think are fair, and we are working with Council and Government to unlock funding which would see Auckland driver wages lift to $30 an hour from an average of about $28 an hour now.”
