The Wellington routes are being suspended from Monday. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
There are 67 services during the morning and afternoon peaks ear-marked to be axed temporarily.
The move was designed to minimise uncertainty, said Metlink's general manager Samantha Gain.
Trips are being removed from both the most frequent and least popular routes, with some services being replaced with bigger buses to keep up with demand.
Gain said the national driver shortage had been affecting customers and operators across Metlink's entire network, but particularly in Wellington city.
"We want to minimise the uncertainty felt by bus customers and we've worked with the operator to introduce temporary suspensions which will remove trips from our higher frequency routes or less patronised services to better allocate available drivers and improve reliability," she said.
"While temporary suspensions aren't a solution to the driver shortage, they will give customers more certainty and bring at least some relief to some passengers."
The organisation said it was working on addressing the systemic issues of staffing, she said.
"At a national level, there are promising movements around driver recruitment for the industry, including recent lobbying to the government to change immigration settings.
"However, in the short term we are still at an undeniable statistical disadvantage, needing an additional 120 drivers for a full complement."
Metlink is advising customers to check the website and app before they travel and plan their journey.
The bus routes affected are 2, 3, 14, 20, 21, 22, 33, 34, 35, 36, 83, 84, 30x, 31x.