Twenty-one buses cancelled in two weeks in Hawke's Bay due to driver shortage

Nation-wide driver shortage, may not be hitting Hawke's Bay as bad as other regions, however passengers have still been effected by 21 cancellations in the last two weeks. Photo / Warren Buckland

Bus users in Hawke's Bay have been left waiting, with GoBay cancelling 21 scheduled trips in two weeks because of a driver shortage.

GoBay Hawke's Bay has taken to its Facebook page almost every other day for the past two weeks to advise passengers of cancellations, mostly on services between Hastings and Napier.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council policy and regulation general manager Katrina Brunton said bus companies were faced with driver shortages all over New Zealand.

"Hawke's Bay is fortunate to be less affected than other regions," Brunton said.

She said in the past month GoBay Bus had cancelled less than 1 per cent of services.

Driver shortages were common at the start of a new year, however this year shortages had been more prevalent because of the current environment where there is greater awareness of the need to socially distance if unwell, she said.

"Go Bus has ensured us that it takes careful consideration of the services that it cancels," she said.

During the past two weeks the Napier to Hastings (12N) and Hastings to Napier( 12H) bus service has regularly had cancellations at peak times, when buses arrive every 20 minutes.

Go Bus, where possible, had been trying to only cancel trips along routes that have more frequent services, she said.

Although multiple services have been cancelled, it's often only because it was one driver short, Brunton said.

The HBRC was working with the Bus and Coach Association to address the shortage.

A new driver recruitment campaign is in the works.