Pay for bus drivers in Dunedin and Queenstown has been lifted for the third time in seven months.
The wage hike comes as the Otago Regional Council moves to keep hold of drivers and attract new staff for its two bus contractors in the southern centres.
Drivers’ wages will rise from $27.76 to $30 per hour, a more than 8% increase, backdated to March 1.
ORC interim chief executive Dr Pim Borren acknowledged some services were struggling to fulfil full timetables amid a driver shortage.
“The ORC is being proactive in relation to this labour shortage issue and once again we’ll be one of the first councils in the country to go to $30 per hour,” he said.
He apologised to passengers whose buses were not turning up and said the Transit app was being updated to improve real-time information.
“The crucial issue remains that our bus operators just cannot get drivers on-board quickly enough,” he says.
He said the rise would help clear the way for overseas drivers as Immigration NZ require migrant drivers be paid at least $29.66, before they could acquire a visa.
“This [pay rise] is a key decision especially for Queenstown which remains on a reduced timetable because of the time it is taking to recruit migrant bus drivers.
“It’s just as important for Dunedin, because if more drivers were available, we could hire 20 tomorrow,” he said.
Dr Borren said ORC has now delivered a more than 30% increase in drivers’ rates from last August, from $22.75 up to $30.
ORC was now negotiating with contractors Ritchies and GoBus to implement the pay rise.
In August last year ORC opted to pay extra funding to its bus operators, so drivers wages rose from the then current Living Wage rate of $22.75 per hour, rising by 90c, or 3.95%, to $23.65. The following month in September, ORC decided to raise drivers wages again to the median wage level, to $27.76 per hour.
The cost of moving from $27.76 to $30 per hour is $1.16 million, of which Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency will pay 51%; or $595,133.
