Most bus services in Central Auckland will be suspended from Friday as negotiations continue to be deadlocked between unions and operator NZ Bus.
Auckland Transport (AT) has told customers that all bus services operated by the city's largest operator would be "cancelled until further notice" from Friday.
It comes after union organisers said drivers would operate services over the Matariki long weekend but with electronic card reader systems switched off.
Speaking tonight, NZ Bus' chief executive has slammed the planned move and said it "simply can’t operate services while drivers take such action" as a result.
AT said earlier: "From 2am, Friday 14 July, all bus services operated by NZ Bus will be cancelled until further notice. This mainly affects bus routes in central Auckland, with some services in other parts of Auckland also affected."
The complete suspension of services comes as a significant escalation for passengers following rush hour-only cancellations earlier this week.
The suspension of NZ Bus services will affect approximately 35% of Auckland’s bus network, including most bus services in the central isthmus, along with services on the North Shore and West Auckland.
AT's public transport executive manager Stacey van der Putten said there would be a "full suspension" of services for "a week from 2am Friday".
"The talks between NZ Bus and the unions today have not reached an agreement to withdraw the proposed strike action,” she said in a statement.
Unions and NZ Bus at odds
NZ Bus chief executive Calum Haslop blamed the suspensions on the unions and said there would be "health and safety issues" as a result of switching off electronic readers.
The electronic ticketing systems are also used for live location tracking of buses and displays at bus stops, according to AT.
"Within hours of agreeing to undertake facilitated bargaining yesterday, the unions then issued a further strike notice that includes drivers refusing to sign on to AT’s bus tracking and ticketing system," he said in a statement.
"This action would result in a material breach of our contracts with AT and create significant health and safety issues across the wider network.
"We therefore have no choice but to suspend all drivers participating in this action and suspend our bus services while this strike notice remains in force.
"The unions statement this morning that drivers would offer free bus travel in Auckland next week, is disingenuous and incredibly unhelpful. The company remains open to further bargaining, but simply can’t operate services while drivers take such action."
First Union organiser Hayley Courtney said in a statement that bus drivers didn't receive any warning of the service suspensions.
"Unfortunately, this is the first we're hearing about service cancellations. Drivers will be arriving to their shifts as normal in the morning and intending to carry out their routes.
"If NZ Bus plan to stand these workers down, they will have to do so individually as per industrial law. Let's be clear - if there are cancellations tomorrow, it's the result of a decision by NZ Bus rather than due to a withdrawal of labour by the drivers.
"They are keen to help passengers get around over the public holiday weekend and intending to work tomorrow. We will discuss this further with our members if and when we hear more directly from NZ Bus."
Van der Putten said the industrial action would impact 4000 trips every day, including school bus services contracted by AT.
“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, and we apologise for the disruption to your travel plans,” she said.
"AT has worked collaboratively with the industry over the past few years to improve driver terms and conditions and we are extremely disappointed that our customers are being so deeply impacted.
"I hope that the unions and NZ Bus are able to quickly resolve this dispute so that tens of thousands of Aucklanders aren't unnecessarily inconvenienced over the next week as they return from the school holidays."
The following routes will be affected
- CityLINK, InnerLINK, OuterLINK, TamakiLINK
- 101, 105, 106, 110, 122, 125, 125X, 128, 129, 14T, 14W, 162, 18
- 20, 22N, 22R, 24B, 24R, 25B, 25L, 252, 253, 27H, 27W, 295
- 30, 321, 333X
- 64, 650, 670, 68
- 75, 751, 755, 76, 774, 775, 781
- 801, 802, 805, 806, 807, 814, 82, 842, 843, 871
- 923, 924
School bus routes affected
- 010, 014, 015, 016, 017, 022, 023, 027, 028, 029, 034, 042, 046, 051, 052, 053, 054, 057, 060, 062, 065, 066, 072, 073, 080, 081, 082, 083, 084, 087, 089
- 402, 409, 411, 412, 413, 414, 417, 418, 419
- 500, 501, 505, 510, 511, 521, 514, 515, 516, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 530, 531, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 568
- 813
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