Gee David, how many neurosurgeons do you know that earn $224500.00 a year? Do the math, before you start spouting nonsense. I bet you don't even catch the bus so you don't actually know what you are even talking about. Bus drivers have to deal with rude people like you every day. They are doing the city and the people a much needed service. The company have the money, but as always they are just being greedy.
What do you think about the 4's and Rotaries in Christchurch? I think it should be cancelled as every year at the show on Saturday at Westpac they say over the speakers there is no planned 4 aves route ride, but if it does happen the 4's and rotaries will be cancelled. Last year Feb 2009 I was going down Blenheim rd which I thought was the best and safest way to go, but the scummy boy racers decided to go everywhere and doing stupid things and caused me to crash and it wasnt my fault, their cars were fine but mine got written off the road. It is so wrong, I feel the city will never stop boy racers as they do it everywhere. What's your option? Thanks Chch Resident
I thought we were an enlightened lot in NZ. Then every once in so often you get people like David and Steve come along to remind us that old fashioned conservatism is still live and well. Who could honestly say that driving a heavy vehicle in Auckland traffic is unskilled work? Any job whatever the skills required involves the giving-up of time and this job is more stressful than most. Get real.
I do empathise with the bus drivers, as public transport has suffered immensely from the recession. The company doesn't have the money for the pay rises and is being pressured to cut costs, however employees working conditions are dangerous to tamper with. Maybe altering the bus routes and times based on use would help. On times where there tends to be few passengers a smaller vehicle could be used that uses less petrol etc. Scale back on rarely used services and pay attention to special events eg: sports/concerts university exams, cultural festivals; to provide flexible services that don't oversupply for limited demand.
I just wish that this problem could be solved A.S.A.P. MAXX does not care about the general public that use their services everyday... My family purchases 2 monthly passes ($170.00 each) for us to travel to work. With no MAXX buses on the road the monthly pass is USELESS & we have to fork out $20.00 each day to travel by train to work... Can MAXX reimburse us for this daily extra cost?
No, Alex, like steve said, it's as simple as this - upskill and get a better job, simple as that. Driving a bus isn't neurosurgery, so it's ludicrous for some drivers to think they ought to be paid like one. And if you don't want to work on the employer's terms, don't accept the job - 13 to 14 bucks is fair enough for a relatively straightforward job like driving a bus anyway. It's not rocket science. Workers can be just as greedy as the corporate bigwigs they serve at times.
ARC is now threatening to cancel NZ Bus' contract. I agree with Mike Lee completely. The current situation is untenable and is causing inconvenience for over 80,000 people day. It cannot be permitted to continue. If NZ Bus cannot manage their company to fulfil the contract they have with the ARC, then the ARC should terminate that contract. This situation is not of the drivers making and, contrary to many media reports, the drivers are not "on strike". The drivers issued a notice of industrial action saying they would "work to rule" meaning they would do what they are paid to do and obey all road laws, they just wouldn't do anything extra for nothing. NZ Bus responded by locking the drivers out, effectively cancelling all bus services. Now on the radio I hear NZ Bus ads saying there are no buses due to the drivers industrial action - and that is patently false. The drivers offered to drive all school children to and from school for free to prevent any inconvenience to them. NZ Bus said it could not be done ... but no comment as to why. They accused the drivers of a publicity stunt, so the drivers repeated the offer formally at yesterday's ERA mediation meeting - and NZ Bus again rejected it outright, without any comment as to why it's so difficult to allow certain buses to travel at certain times of the day to commute the kids. I would like to see ARC terminate NZ Bus' contract immediately, and reallocate that contract amongst the other bus companies in Auckland. The buses have been idle for five days now without a solution in sight. NZ Bus is merely hoping that the more inconvenience that is caused, the more the public will sympathise with the company and blame the drivers - but the opposite is happening. It is now time for ARC to take some action --- send NZ Bus back to Wellington and let's get our public transport system back up and working.
I am one of the bus drivers locked out. And it is a LOCKOUT. NOT a strike. We have all been turning up for work and we have not been allowed in. The pay is an issue yes, but there are other conditions that we were going to lose as well. I might also point out that we have not had a pay rise for the last 6 years. All we had was CPI. And that was not very much at all. I like everybody else will be turning up for work in our uniforms and we will not be able to work. This is the last thing the drivers wanted. And I also apologise to James for the drivers that get upset about the change. We only carry a small float for health and saftey reasons and a $20 can really use up all our change. Thanks for reading this.
Bus Drivers in Auckland & Wellington deserve what they are asking for and be paid more. These are the people with high responsibility working long hours under a lot of timing & traffic constraints and are the forefront to the members of the public and make your company have a great profile and give you huge profit all due to the bus drivers great efforts. Bus drivers should be paid another $4/hr and you should see how much improved dedication you'll receive from your Bus Drivers. Thank you. [ Posted from Karori ]
from what i have seen this dispute has been going for five months apparently, it is only the last couple of days that we the traveling public have been inconveninced, so i would say it is probably the company and not drivers as the drivers have not yet got what they were after.
