Auckland Transport (AT) has asked commuters to plan ahead as a driver strike from tomorrow morning may affect up to 700 trips.
An AT spokesperson said all affected trips are on routes operated by NZ Bus and are concentrated in the morning, including during peak hours.
AT's executive general manager public transport services Stacey van der Putten said AT had been told that NZ Bus and union representatives had agreed to enter mediation on Monday morning.
"Tomorrow's industrial action has the potential to disrupt tens of thousands of Aucklanders and we appreciate how deeply frustrating this is for our customers who have been incredibly patient over the past year while we worked to overcome the driver shortage," she said.
"We're urging our bus passengers to use the AT Mobile App or Journey Planner before they travel tomorrow morning to find out whether their usual bus trip is affected and to see options for alternative services they can travel on."
AT said the current offer tabled by NZ Bus would see the company's Auckland drivers paid above the industry standard, and higher than the $30 per hour average wage.
"Auckland Transport strongly believes that bus drivers should receive a fair wage, which is why we have worked proactively to bring the industry together in recent years to support improvements to driver wages and conditions," van der Putten said.
"I hope that the unions and NZ Bus are able to quickly resolve this dispute tomorrow so that tens of thousands of Aucklanders aren't unnecessarily inconvenienced this week over issues which could have been dealt with in mediation."
SHARE ME