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Auckland bus users are still facing more��than 1,500��service cancellations daily as��the��struggle to��attract��and retain drivers continues.����

The��Public Transport Users Association fears��the��cancellations are pushing users back into private cars.����

Auckland Transport operates just under 12,000 bus services a day and is cancelling about 1,800 each weekday – about��12 to 14 per cent, Manager Metro��Optimisation��Richard Harrison said.����

The��organisation��is 470 drivers short, about 20 per cent of the number needed to run full services.����

It is a figure that has increased since the end of July��when Auckland Transport said it was about 270 drivers short.����

“It did increase over the last month, it’s been increasing since we came out of lockdown, sadly going up since March – April, [so] cancellations have been steadily going up since then,” Harrison said.��

Auckland bus drivers have received two pay increases in that time.����

In early September, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency approved additional funding for Auckland Transport to increase pay by��3.9 per cent, on top of the 8 per cent increase funded by Auckland Council��in��late July.����

It brought the average bus driver wage to $26.62 an hour��

But it is too early to know if that has made a difference, Harrison said.����

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AT expects the pay rises will help attract and retain people and has been using��it��in advertising.����

While Harrison cannot say how much longer Aucklanders will face these many��cancellations, a bus user himself, he acknowledges the frustration.����

“It’s a big job to recruit 500 people into the industry, it’s going to take us a while to do,” he said.����

Public��Transport Users Association National Coordinator Jon Reeves points out��that��while 12 per cent may not sound like a large number, a lot of individuals are impacted.����

“That’s a lot of passengers who may be giving up on public transport, or are giving up on public transport and moving into private vehicles.”��

Mask mandate removal sees��Auckland patronage boost����

Despite frequent cancellations, Auckland Transport reports patronage has increased since the requirement to wear a face mask��on public transport��was dropped.����

Patronage increased to about 70 per cent of 2019 figures following the removal, up from just over 60 per cent, Harrison said.����

But it is a different story in other��metropolitan��cities.����

An Environment Canterbury spokesperson said their data shows a three per cent improvement in patronage from the two weeks before removal of the mask requirement, compared to the two weeks following it.����

But it is��a very short period and difficult to directly attribute the increase to a change in mask requirements alone, they said.����

The��spokesperson��said the promotion of��tertiary concessions��and changes to��SuperGold��access are also influencing travel��behaviours.����

Wellington’s��Metlink��General Manager Samantha Gain said two weeks after the change, they saw a three per cent increase in patronage compared to the same period last year.����

“We don’t think this rise can be solely attributed to the removal of face masks as��it’s��likely both the government’s half price fares initiative and increasing numbers of people returning to workplaces will also be relevant factors for this increase.”��