Law change could hit tight bus timetables
Disruption to Auckland bus services due to a driver shortage could worsen in May when a new employment law kicks in.
Drivers will be entitled to more breaks and shorter unbroken stints at the wheel, meaning more buses and drivers might be needed.
Auckland Transport has started talks with bus operators but the Tramways Union said it also needed to be part of the solution.
‘‘It could be potentially extremely impactful, especially in peaks,’’ said Stacey Van Der Putten, Auckland Transport’s metro service delivery manager.
Changes to the Employment Relations Amendment Act require workers to have a 10-minute break after two hours and a half-hour break after four hours. Drivers can currently work up to 51⁄2 hours non-stop under provisions in the Transport Act.
‘‘We’d expect the 5.5 hours to become four with an additional meal break,’’ said Gary Froggatt, the national and Auckland president of the Tramways and Public Transport Employees Union.
‘‘It’ll have a major impact on timetabled services around the country,’’ he told Stuff.
‘‘We are trying to change the driving hours and the rest breaks for drivers in all companies,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s a major priority for us and we’ll be attacking it vigorously.’’
Auckland, Wellington and Tauranga already face daily cancelled services due to a shortage of drivers, with up to 30 runs a day being scrapped in the capital.
In Auckland, 4 per cent of services were cancelled in one week in mid-December, though not all of them due to driver shortages.
Auckland Transport said it was still trying to work out with operators how the new arrangement would work. ‘‘Essentially what it could mean is that we need more bus drivers and more buses to keep to the same timetable, so it’s a big risk to the industry,’’ said Van Der Putten.
Froggatt said AT should be including the unions in the talks on how the law changes would affect rosters. ‘‘We are the biggest stakeholders, and we have asked for that process to be set-up.’’
Froggatt said he didn’t expect bus drivers would get a break after two hours but four hours followed by a meal break could work. The Tramways Union represents drivers at NZ Bus, with First Union covering other companies. NZ Bus said this week it would support the union’s call to the Government, seeking industry-wide changes to bus driving hours. ‘‘Such as reducing the current limit of 51⁄2 hours of continuous work time without taking a break,’’ said Claire Neville, operations general manager. The industry’s umbrella organisation, the Bus and Coach Association, is meeting operators tomorrow to discuss the impact of the law change.
Unrelated to the law changes, the Government has been examining the impact on drivers’ working conditions from the legislation requiring bus operators to compete for longrunning public transport contacts. Unions say the drive by companies to undercut each other has been at the cost of wages and conditions.