Public transport bosses are appealing to the government to make it easier for overseas bus drivers to work in New Zealand, in the face of chronic shortages.
Hundreds of trips a day are being cancelled as there just are not the drivers to fill the shifts, with situations vacant around the motu.
In addition, it was announced this week that a number of train services in Auckland would be shut down over several years for maintenance, meaning replacement buses, and yet more pressure on the system.
A collective of regional transport authorities has written to Transport Minister Michael Wood, urging him to review immigration settings to help solve the problem.
Wood told Checkpoint that both the nation-wide bus driver shortage and the rail maintenance issues in Auckland were due to decades of under-investment.
He said bus drivers' pay and conditions had been eroded over time and work was needed to remedy that before the country looked further afield for workers.
"There's been a race to the bottom in this sector for 20 years now; that's why we've got this problem, that's why we're reforming the public transport operating model that was put in by the previous government that drove pay and conditions down, and that's why we're putting $60 million on the table, to try and fix the problem."
Making changes to immigration settings to allow overseas bus drivers to work here could "certainly be part of the solution", Wood said, but the sector's underlying issues first needed to be addressed.
"If we can make sure that pay and conditions for bus drivers are at least at the level of the median wage, then there's a very clear pathway for employers to be able to bring in bus drivers to supplement our domestic workforce."
He said he was working with operators, councils and unions to try and improve pay and conditions for those already working in the sector.
"That will help to retain existing drivers, it'll make it more attractive to get new drivers in, and it will also help to open up that pathway for migrant workers as well."
Both the Accredited Employer Work Visa and the Green List for residency generally required workers to be paid the median wage or above, Wood said, so there was little point adding bus drivers to those categories unless local bus drivers were being paid at least that much.
"The issue that we've had is that the funding hasn't been in place across central government, local government and operators to support those wage levels," he said.
"We could bring in migrant workers - and indeed that will be part of the solution - but if we then keep losing other domestic workers out the back end, we'll be no better off."
Asked about the forthcoming rail track closures to allow maintenance in Auckland, Wood said that as a frequent user of public transport in the region, he appreciated the frustration people would be feeling over the news.
"Again, what we have is a legacy of under-investment in the system and that's what's being addressed here. We have to make sure that our rail network is safe, that there aren't going to be disruptions in the future."
Wood said he had sought assurances from both Auckland Transport (AT) and KiwiRail that the public transport replacement services offered while various sections of the rail network underwent maintenance would be sufficient.
"It is extremely important that they plan those well and have adequate capacity."
He said that in order to minimise disruption the work would be done "section by section", meaning most parts of the network would continue to operate at any one time.
"The clear message I've sent to both KiwiRail and AT is I understand this work has to be done, it is some pain to get some gain, but once it's done, we need to give Auckland commuters a breather, so that their rail network can operate without interruptions for a decent period of time."
Wood said a decision on whether immigration settings would be changed to make it easier for bus drivers to come to New Zealand would likely be announced within a matter of weeks.
