![]() They let me sit in as they put seven new drivers through their paces and explained what makes driving a bus tricky. Harjit and Gil are bus driving instructors and both have 20 years' experience in the industry. ![]() If you want extra work it is always there." "It's a double-edged sword because we're about five or six hundred drivers short in Auckland at the moment. Shayel said he made the most of the extra work on offer. Howick & Eastern's typical shifts are between nine and nine-and-a-half-hours. Under Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency law, the maximum a driver can do in a day is 13 hours. The maximum hours a driver can work per week is 70, though Howick and Eastern said they did not roster anywhere near this amount. In East Auckland, a sandwich board outside the bus depot advertised a starting wage of $27.45 an hour. It's hoped the government injection will lift wages to about $30 an hour in the cities and around $28 in the regions.Īuckland Transport is assessing the hydrogen powered bus's performance to see how its operating costs compare to diesel and electric buses of similar configurations. ![]() My previous life was in security for about 33 years, and it got to the point that I wanted to really try it and I love it." "I've been bus driving for 18 months now. You'd be hard pressed to find a bus driver more passionate about their career than Shayel Johnston, who spoke to me from inside the Southern Hemisphere's only hydrogen powered bus. Inside, the admin team were hard at work to ensure school and public bus schedules were being met, and there were enough drivers to cover each route. RNZ went along to Howick & Eastern Buses' depot on Ti Rakau Drive, home to 220 drivers and 177 buses, to see how they were faring. Last month the government announced $61 million would be spent on lifting driver wages nationwide, but the shortage remains, particularly in Auckland, a city short of 500 drivers. New Zealand's bus companies are being forced to pay drivers more, amid a nationwide driver shortage. ![]() Shayel Johnston has been driving buses for 18 months now and the former security worker says he loves his new job. ![]()
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