Wellington restores 113 bus services as driver recruitment revives Metlink timetables

Credit: Tranzurban

In a significant step towards restoring normalcy to Wellington’s public transport system, Metlink has announced that 113 suspended bus services are set to return to its network over the next two months. The successful recruitment of drivers has enabled the reinstatement of 59 weekday services starting from 18 December 2023, followed by 54 weekend services resuming on 28 January 2024. The services, operated by Tranzurban, had been temporarily halted in November 2022 due to the nationwide bus driver shortage.

Greater Wellington Transport Committee Chair, Thomas Nash, said: “Re-building the bus driver workforce has been a priority for council, Metlink, and our operators. We’ve lifted driver wages to drive recruitment and restore public trust in our network. We know we have more to do to improve driver pay and conditions, and I want to thank drivers for all their work to make our region function.”

Metlink bus patronage has now surged to 100% of pre-COVID levels, showcasing Wellingtonians’ strong commitment to public transport. Nash continued, “We’re pleased our passengers will soon see almost all of the remaining suspended services returning to timetables, and we hope the world-class reliability we are now providing will encourage more people to catch the bus.”

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A total of 181 services had been suspended in late 2022 to provide passengers with greater certainty during the driver shortage. As recruitment efforts intensified, one Tranzurban service had been restored in March 2023, and 67 Kinetic services had been reinstated in August, joining the 3,600 Metlink bus services operating each weekday. Thanks to substantial investments in local and international recruitment campaigns, only 25 driver positions needed filling as of 1 November 2023, bringing the total to the required 685 for the full Metlink timetable.

Tranzurban Wellington’s General Manager, Samuel Stairmand, said: “In 2022, we made the difficult decision with Metlink to reduce frequency on some routes to enable more consistency across services. We then launched domestic recruitment campaigns and brought in drivers from the Philippines and Fiji after the government changed immigration settings last December [2022].”

“Tranzurban’s recent reliability rating of over 98% indicates they are ready to start resuming suspended services,” said Metlink Group Manager, Samantha Gain. “We are grateful for our customers’ patience both during the suspensions and as we restore timetables. The reinstatements will add daily capacity for 5,000 passengers across Wellington city and Porirua.”