Bus drivers' strike to cause travel chaos

Aucklanders face traffic chaos today as a strike by Stagecoach bus drivers forces thousands more cars onto already clogged motorways and busy roads.

Stagecoach and four unions representing 1000 drivers are deadlocked in a pay dispute, leaving 80,000 commuters who make 150,000 bus trips a day in an area from Orewa to Pukekohe without rides.

The strike will also hit the inner-city Link service and school buses, which the firm managed to keep going during recent stopwork meetings. More action is threatened next week, at two bus depots at a time on four consecutive days.

Auckland police Inspector Andrew Brill said there would be a lot more traffic on the roads this morning.

"If your trip isn't important or you can put it off, put it off. If you have to drive then look at the possibility of driving outside rush hours. Otherwise, be patient."

Auckland Regional Transport Authority chief executive Alan Thompson, whose body is responsible for contracting bus services, said: "In the longer term the other bad news for an event like this is it tends to be a disincentive for people to use public transport.

"We hope people can think of alternative ways of getting to work, whether it's on foot, cycle or by pooling cars."

Stagecoach operations director Warren Fowler said the company had put four offers on the table and was waiting for the unions to come back on the latest, "but they seem hellbent on a strike".

Unions advocate Gary Froggatt said the offers represented different ways of packaging the same money.

Mr Fowler said the firm had raised its offer of 12 per cent over three years to 14.8 per cent, reaching $16 an hour by 2007.

The union had responded by expanding on a claim for $16 an hour, pushing for $16.50 next year, he said.

Auckland Regional councillor Robyn Hughes, a member of the Residents Action Movement, plans to join some of the bus drivers' picket lines.

She said: "Stagecoach is making much bigger profits in New Zealand than on its home turf in Britain, partly because of the millions in subsidies the company is getting from Auckland Regional Council.

"It's well past the time for bus drivers to get a decent pay rise, and so I'm going to take a stand with these workers."