Increased, streamlined community grants

Big pay hike for drivers

by Paul Taylor

Queenstown’s troubled Orbus will be able to recruit drivers from overseas after raising wages to $27.76. The bus service, run by Otago Regional Council and operated by Ritchies, is operating on a reduced timetable in Queenstown and also Dunedin. In August, ORC increased wages by 90c, upping drivers’ pay to the hourly 2022 Living Wage of $23.65. That move cost $500k. But last week, it announced a further huge hike, up to the median wage of $27.76, effective immediately, and costing an estimated $2 million. That should give it greater pull in the cutthroat local jobs market, while also enabling Ritchies to recruit offshore, in line with the Government visa threshold, which is benchmarked to the median wage. One Queenstown driver, who did not want to be named, tells the Lakes Weekly Bulletin the increase is a step in the right direction. “Many drivers, including myself, wish it would have been implemented much sooner on, but certainly better late than never. I think it will certainly help with recruiting new drivers, and potentially even draw back in some drivers who had resigned.” Driver morale has risen since the announcement, he says, which should help with retention. “Various drivers have their different reasons for leaving in the recent months, contributing to the driver shortage, but I think the low pay rate was high on the list of reasons for many. “Now that we have a respectable wage it will make the job much more attractive in Queenstown’s job market.” Queenstown-based Otago Regional Councillor Alexa Forbes says the council realised the previous increase wasn’t enough to make operators competitive in recruiting staff. “And we needed to get the money up to a level where we could employ immigrant labour, which the buses have relied on for years,” Forbes says. “You have to employ migrants on a median wage now, which is a fantastic thing, and now we’re in a position to do that.” ORC has put the wage forward as a minimum, but operators choose to pay more on top as they try to lure drivers away from tourism firms, trucking companies, taxis, uber, and other professions. “I think it will definitely help,” Forbes says, “but it is only a band aid. It is only the first step. “The next step would be putting together a governance committee that can drive a much better bus service, better engagement and better customer service.” A new governance committee could include Queenstown Lakes District Council and Dunedin City Council, which have been making noises about councils taking over running the services. The Government has also recently introduced the Sustainable Public Transport Framework, which gives regional councils greater flexibility. “It replaces the PTOM (Public Transport Operating Model) model, the race for the bottom model. We now have more of an empowerment model going on,” Forbes says. Passenger numbers on public transport have taken a hit worldwide since the pandemic hit, exacerbated in Queenstown by an unreliable service. On top of timetable cuts, there are on-going, widespread cancelations daily. ORC Interim Chief Executive Dr Pim Borren says continuing the status quo “is not an option”. Borren will present several options to the incoming ORC Council, including joint governance arrangements QLDC and DCC, if those councils agree. The focus will be to consider what is affecting services and timetables and how driver shortages, pay rates, driver recruitment and retention and localised issues, such as accommodation, can be addressed. He says the reduced timetables in both centres originally planned for the short term have now remained in place “indefinitely”. “However, on the basis of our actions and working with our two bus operators, we anticipate a return to full timetable services after the December and January summer period,” Dr Borren says.