A Gisborne bus, operated by Go Bus, at the Bright Street bus stop. Photo: Supplied/ Local Democracy Reporting - Gisborne Herald/ Liam Clayton
Gisborne bus drivers are some of the lowest paid in the country according to a union pushing for pay equity across the industry.
Last week, Tauranga bus drivers became the highest paid in the country when their pay went up to $28 an hour.
But some centres are lagging behind, including Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Northland, Waikato, Christchurch and Invercargill, First Union says.
The union's assistant general secretary Louisa Jones said bus driving was a tough job and required competitive pay rates to attract new people to the industry.
"It is more palatable for many to look elsewhere in the transport industry, where pay rates are generally higher and the extra responsibilities involved with carrying passengers don't apply," Jones said.
Three drivers are currently employed in Gisborne to operate two city routes covering the central urban area, Kaiti, Elgin, Gisborne Hospital, Te Hapara and Tamarau.
One of those drivers, who Local Democracy Reporting agreed not to name, said Gisborne's urban route drivers were paid $23 an hour, or $1.80 more than minimum wage.
He believed drivers should be paid the same as other centres, because they all did the same job.
"I think that we're worth it, because we do a good service. It's well patronised too - we're pretty busy."
Go Bus chief operating officer Nigel Piper said his organisation's bus contract with the council had an annual allowance for cost increases based on a nationally calculated transportation price index adjustment.
The adjustment included a specific component for increases in labour costs, he said.
"Over the years of the contract, the adjustments paid via this index have not kept up to the actual wage levels, but this is not unique to Gisborne," Piper said.
"This has meant bus driver wages have become uncompetitive against similar driving roles, and hence a national shortage of drivers has occurred."
Piper said Go Bus was working with other councils to increase the wage components of the funding his organisation received, which it would pass directly on to drivers.
"We want to have the same conversation with the council on Gisborne driver wages and will be making an approach shortly."
Tauranga has not been the only centre to increase pay rates this year.
Last month, Otago Regional Council lifted its driver rates to $27.76 an hour.
Between July and September, Auckland Council boosted its drivers' wages by almost 12 percent to an average of $26.62 an hour.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air