The Government has cut funding for bus drivers to get paid fairly for the work they do, Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said.

“Bus drivers and public transport workers do valuable work for their communities; it’s good to see the Government will continue to fund initiatives to improve their safety.

“Simeon Brown’s announcement about driver safety neglected to mention the fact that more than $46 million has been cut from the same budget to ensure drivers get paid fairly for late night work and split shifts.

“Any form of harassment or violence is unacceptable, particularly where drivers are simply doing their jobs. I just wish that Simeon Brown also saw value in paying bus drivers properly.

“Treasury also warned Nicola Willis that making this cut could undo the work done by Labour to increase reliability of public transport and could return New Zealand to a position of large bus driver shortages that cause mass service cancellations.

“If Simeon Brown had his way, we would all be in cars driving on toll roads. The reality is many New Zealanders rely on public transport. Not paying drivers properly and putting at risk the reliability of services will only take us backwards,” Tangi Utikere said.

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