A chronic shortage of bus drivers around the country has led to transport woes in Pōneke and Tāmaki Makaurau. File photo Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
People in the country's two biggest commuter cities are facing heavy public transport disruption as they return to work this week.
Driver shortages and railway works have left people in Pōneke and Tāmaki Makaurau stranded at the station, facing long waits, and forking out for other transport.
In the capital, many weekday buses are running on a Saturday timetable until the end of the month - slashing services by 20 percent.
That is in addition to 180 services that have been temporarily parked since October.
At rush hour on Lambton Quay, commuters' woes included double the transport time, packed buses, and long waits at the stop.
Greater Wellington Regional Council's transport chair Thomas Nash said the council knew what a headache the disruptions caused, but it was left with no choice.
"We're forced into this situation because of a chronic shortage of drivers for buses around the country, and in Wellington.
"We're doing what we can to make sure that the drivers who we do have get a decent rest, and this is really the only option we saw in front of us."
As of last month, the Metlink network was short 125 drivers.
But there may be a light at the end of the bus tunnel - even if it's dim and flickering.
"We are hopeful that sometime by the middle of this year, we'll be able to remove some of those suspended services and get back to a normal level of service, and indeed, start to begin to expand our frequency and reach."
That hinged on recruitment efforts, which Nash said had been intense.
The government's new immigration rules giving bus drivers a pathway to residency had helped.
One of Metlink's operators, NZ Bus said so far 100 overseas candidates had accepted job offers.
The first cohort should be at the wheel in the next two months.
Another operator, Tranzit, said it was campaigning to bring students and retirees into the fold.
The bus driver shortage was also causing headaches in the City of Sails, but the trains were the talk of the town.
Yesterday was the first day of a two-month closure of six rail stations on the Southern and Onehunga lines while Auckland Transport works on the City Rail Link.
Commuters at Britomart said while trains were replaced by buses, they took far longer - meaning they could not get to work on time unless they took a taxi.
Next in line for disruption are commuters on the eastern line, with work set to begin there in March, closing five stations.
