Pressure is mounting on Transport and Immigration Minister Michael Wood to address the bus driver shortage crisis crippling Auckland’s public transport network.

Interim Auckland Transport chief executive Mark Lambert has joined mayor Wayne Brown in calling the bus driver shortage a “crisis” and demanding Wood change the immigration settings to help address the problem.

AT has been advocating for changes to the immigration setting this year to make it possible for skilled drivers from overseas to quickly fill our driver vacancies and help bring back the services not running, said Lambert.

There is a nationwide shortage of 800 bus drivers, including 500 in Auckland.

Auckland Transport is 500 bus drivers short. Photo / Dean Purcell

On Monday, AT announced almost 1000 scheduled bus services would be cut, prompting Brown to call on the transport agencies and the Government to move to an “emergency setting”.

Auckland is facing a “public transport crisis” when the city needs more people using public transport to lessen congestion and lower household transport costs during an economic and fiscal storm, Brown said.

The mayor has also blamed KiwiRail’s “badly planned” maintenance projects, which will replace trains with buses amid a $330 million network rebuild next year and in 2024 to pave the way for more commuter trains when the City Rail Link opens.

Said Lambert: “We will continue to work with KiwiRail to explore all options to lessen the impact of the planned Rail Network Rebuild on Aucklanders.”

The public transport crisis also threatens to affect next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will attract tens of thousands of overseas visitors and showcase Auckland to a global audience.

Wood said all the parties have a role in addressing public transport issues for Auckland and he looked forward to working with Brown constructively on the issues.

Wayne Brown is calling for an 'emergency footing' to address the public transport crisis. Photo / Greg Bowker

“Migrant labour alone cannot solve these issues and should not be an excuse for not tackling the core measures required to make bus driving an attractive career. I do however agree that it can play a part in dealing with the current shortage,” Wood said.

He said the Government came to the table on Sunday by providing an additional $61 million to lift bus driver pay and conditions.

“Poor pay and conditions have been one of the reasons for the bus driver shortage, and the whole sector has welcomed our announcement as an important part of stabilising the workforce. We have also announced a major reform of the Public Transport Operating Model, which has exacerbated many of these issues.

No Government, said Wood, has done more to support improved public transport services.

“Council’s role through AT is to oversee and manage the services. This includes the contracting of services, the planning of routes, and the recruitment of drivers. I am sure that any specific proposals the Mayor has for how his organisation can resolve these service delivery issues will be well received by Auckland public transport users, and I will be open to discussing these with him,” he said.

KiwiRail is planning a $330 million rail network upgrade over the next two years. Photo / Alex Burton

Buses account for 74 per cent of Auckland’s public transport network and are critical to Auckland’s transport network and the city’s economy.

This is the first time Brown and AT have worked together on an issue since the mayor pushed for a “complete change in approach” by the council-controlled organisation (CCO).

AT has forecast it will take three years to get Auckland’s public transport system back to pre-Covid levels of 100 million passengers a year. The council’s uncosted Transport Emissions Reduction Plan (Terp) calls for 550m public transport journeys a year by 2030.