Auckland Transport (AT) will remove frequently cancelled bus services from timetables later this week.
As of Sunday, November 6, bus routes that have trips cancelled often won't be shown on the AT Journey Planner or on digital signs at stops.
The temporary suspension applies to 821 services across Tāmaki Makaurau, which is about 6% of the region's total bus schedule.
AT say this decision was made to allow commuters more certainty when planning their trips.
"We're not taking anything away that's currently running. We are just temporarily removing them in the timetable, so they won't show up and then appear as cancelled,'' AT group manager of Metro Services Darek Koper said.
This comes as bus cancellations have become commonplace for Aucklanders over the past year due to the ongoing bus driver shortage.
AT said they are working to restore bus services once they recruit more drivers.
"We are still running 12,000 bus trips a day, and we're working on adding services back to our timetables as soon as bus operators can recruit more drivers," AT said in an alert to bus users.
Koper said that AT is currently working with the Government to find a solution to the driver shortage to return bus timetables to normal. He acknowledged that temporarily suspending some services is not the answer to restoring full timetables.
Despite there being two recent increases in base remuneration for drivers, with a further increase announced by the Government yesterday, Koper said "in the short term, we still need an additional 500 drivers".
AT said that commuters will still see some cancellations due to unplanned operational issues or high driver absences.
"We recommend checking Journey Planner, Live Departures or digital signs at stops and stations before you travel," AT said.
However, there is positive news for East Auckland bus users, with buses in the area recently returning to the full timetable. Go Bus had recruited more drivers. This restored 5000 trips per month which were removed in May.
On Saturday, the Government announced it was putting $61 million into improving the pay and conditions of bus drivers.
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