Auckland Transport is asking train passengers to plan ahead as driver illness, in addition to the underlying bus driver shortage in Auckland, means train replacement buses will run to reduced timetables from this weekend.

All AT train services are replaced by ‘rail buses’ this weekend (and from Friday night at 9.30pm for the Western Line) so that KiwiRail can complete pre-planned essential maintenance across the network.

Unfortunately, due to the current rate of bus driver sickness our rail buses will run to reduced hourly timetables on the Eastern, Southern and Western Lines both this weekend and for future rail closures while driver shortage and high rates of driver sickness continue.

AT Group Manager Metro Services Darek Koper says it’s frustrating for passengers that rail bus timetables needed to be reduced, but it’s important that we’re not asking bus drivers to be working when they’re unwell.

“We all know friends or family members who are being knocked about at the moment by winter illnesses, whether it’s COVID-19, the flu, or a bad cold doing the rounds,” Mr Koper says.

“For our bus drivers it’s the same but when they get sick they just can’t log onto Zoom or Teams and work remotely like so many of us can these days.

“We’re asking Aucklanders to be patient and understanding as we work with our operators to hire and train more drivers, but for the meantime we will unfortunately see more disruption to our services this winter.”

How to stay up to date about cancellations and timetable changes

The most up-to-date information about cancellations and changes to our bus, train and ferry services can be found in AT Mobile app and the Journey Planner on the AT website.

Darek Koper says if Aucklanders haven’t already downloaded the AT Mobile app, now’s a great time to give it a go.

“Aucklanders using our app can see in real time how our services are tracking and get the latest information about cancellations before they even leave the house.”

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