On Tuesday, the Otago Regional Council announced it was reducing the Orbus timetable in Queenstown and Dunedin from this coming Tuesday to provide for "greater reliability following disruptions due to driver shortages".
Transport manager Doug Rodgers said there simply were not enough drivers to operate all routes daily.
"Bus operators have been working hard to maintain a workable service, but the new wave of Covid and winter illness has created a shortage of drivers in both Dunedin and Queenstown and this, coupled with the national shortage of bus drivers, is impacting the ability to deliver a full service."
Three routes in Queenstown will be affected — the Sunshine Bay to Remarkables Park schedule will operate every 30 minutes, down from every 15, while the Arthurs Point to Arrowtown and Queenstown to Lake Hayes Estate routes will drop the additional peak morning and afternoon services.
The former Orbus driver, who asked not to be named, said he was aware of at least 10 of his Queenstown colleagues who had quit in recent weeks, many going back to the jobs they had pre-Covid.
"A lot of the guys who were, or are, driving for things like Orbus in Queenstown and Dunedin and other centres around New Zealand, they came from tourism operations, previously.
"So, of course, it stands to reason once things open up ... they’re away."
The money on offer was also "hugely" better, he said.
It is understood Orbus drivers are being paid the living wage, of $22.75 an hour.
For drivers to make ends meet in the resort, many were working the maximum 13-hour shifts, which the source said was "ridiculous".
But the driver said he could understand why the remuneration was not better: "There’s no flesh in it".
He believed those making the decisions were afraid of putting rates up, to fund the service the same way swimming pools, libraries and sports grounds were funded.
The driver predicted Orbus would go through some "major" changes over the next few years, and said the public’s expectation of public transport had to change.
"Either they accept lower-scale, which is rough and ready, driven by somebody who is getting paid minimal wages ... or they’ve got to shell out in their rates."
