Solving the bus driver shortageBefore Christmas last year, we had a shortfall of more than 570 bus drivers. The ripple effects of this across our network have been felt by many of you when travelling with us.
So what have we been doing to support bus operators with this challenge?
Over the past 4 months, we’ve been actively advertising on social media (Facebook and Instagram), to find people who show an interest in driving buses in Auckland. We’ve then passed on these leads to our operators, who in turn use them to help them find drivers for interviews and training. This is in addition to any advertising the operators have done themselves.
We’re on track to get back to normal reliability in bus services by the end of September. Across all operators, there are over 200 new drivers in training now, with more recruited and waiting to start training.
You can expect significant increases in the number of services operated, and reductions in the number of cancellations as these drivers join the workforce each month.
You might spot new drivers riding on buses to learn the routes. They’ll be in uniform and hi-vis vests, watching from the front of the bus.
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