Despite an increase in wages for local bus drivers, former Queenstown mayor Jim Boult remains ‘‘gravely concerned’’ over continuing cancellations and reductions in service levels affecting the Whakatipu.
Recently, Otago Regional Council (ORC) agreed to increase all its contract bus driver pay rates to the median wage of $27.76 per hour.
While Boult welcomes the wage increase as ‘‘a step in the right direction’’, he’s ‘‘disappointed’’ it’s taken ORC so long to get to that point, particularly given Queenstown’s and Dunedin’s councils call for action over many months, and the joint offer to review how public transport’s
managed.
‘‘ORC still hasn’t taken up this offer and there’s a huge amount more that could have happened before now.’’
He’s hopeful the full timetable services will return after summer, as promised, and says Queenstown and Dunedin residents deserve ‘‘significantly better at a crucial time when we are trying to reduce car use and encourage shared public transport’’.
