Thousands of buses face cancellation under new meal break law, industry body says

Sunday, 31 March 2019

Outgoing Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Chris Laidlaw fronts a select committee over the region's bus problems in September last year.

More than 2500 buses could be cancelled every day if drivers are subject to new meal break legislation coming into effect in less than six weeks, the New Zealand Bus and Coach Association (BCA) says.

From May 6, workers will be required to take a 10-minute break after two hours and a 30-minute meal break if working longer than four hours, unless a separate agreement is reached with their employer.

Two bus companies, NZ Bus and Mana Coach Services, have lobbied the Government for an exemption from the rule, saying the changes would be almost impossible to implement unless extra buses and drivers are employed to relieve workers on breaks.

The BCA is not lobbying for an exemption of behalf of its members. But it has warned Transport Minister Phil Twyford that a 'worst-case scenario' could see more than 2500 bus services a day cancelled nationwide, under current staffing levels, if the changes go ahead.

NZ Bus says drivers are already subject to strict controls under the Land Transport Rule. (File photo)

* Auckland buses could be hit by new law

Transport Minister Phil Twyford has accused bus companies of 'catastrophising'. (File photo)

* 'Contentious' research withheld on drivers' conditions**

However, Twyford accused bus companies of 'catastrophising' the situation, and called on operators and drivers' unions to sort the problem out together.

In an email from the BCA to some bus operators, provided to Stuff, a BCA staff member said the association had told Twyford 1400 services could be cancelled and another 200 buses delayed in Auckland as a result of the new law.

A worst case scenario could see up to one in four Wellington buses cancelled because of new meal break legislation. (File photo)

In the Wellington region, there could be 963 cancellations and a further 62 delays each day. There are about 3800 bus services in Wellington on an average weekday.

BCA chief executive Barry Kidd told Stuff that bus drivers' rosters were tailored to meet peak demand, so most breaks would occur during peak times.

Ten-minute breaks for bus drivers would, in reality, be at least half an hour because drivers needed to find a designated place to park their bus. That would result in large numbers of cancellations.

The association is scheduled to meet with Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway this week to discuss the new legislation. (File photo)

Kidd acknowledged the figures quoted were a worst-case scenario and were based on some 'incomplete information and assumptions'.

He was due to meet with Twyford, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway, and bus company representatives next week to discuss the problem.

'Our immediate focus is to get to a situation on May 6 where there's not going to be significant disruption to New Zealand's public transport network.'

The association says 10-minute breaks for drivers would, in reality, be at least half-an-hour because they first needed to find a designated parking space to stop. (File photo)

Twyford said the Government wanted drivers to have decent breaks for their safety and the safety of passengers.

'Instead of catastrophising about their inability to schedule decent breaks for drivers, it should be within the ability of both the bus operators and the unions to find a practical way to make this work.'

In a submission to Parliament, NZ Bus said the changes were completely impractical and would cause huge disruption.

Variables like delays caused by traffic congestion could also lead to a driver needing to stop for a break mid-trip, it said.

'The implications of this service interruption could be significantly exacerbated if the break is due on important parts of the road network – for example, the Auckland Harbour Bridge.'

Drivers were already subject to 'strong controls' under the Land Transport Rule, which required them to take a 30-minute break after 5½ hours.

Mana Coach Services said the changes would create 'enormous scheduling difficulties and additional costs'.

'Simply requesting the driver to stop for 10 minutes to take a break would result in significant disruption … and would breach our service contracts with Greater Wellington Regional Council.'

A regional council spokesman said it was unable to comment on the figures quoted by the BCA.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said the changes had been well-signalled since the Bill was introduced in January last year, and passed in December.

'Businesses can provide breaks at different times, if it’s not reasonable and practical to do so at the times prescribed in law,' employment relations policy manager Tracy Mears said.

* An earlier version of this story failed to clarify that NZ Bus and Mana Coach Services were lobbying for an exemption from the new legislation, not the BCA.