Bus services will run as normal on Friday after Auckland Transport (AT) confirmed NZ Bus and union members agreed to withdraw strike action in a late-night decision.
On Thursday evening, AT announced talks between NZ Bus and unions representing the drivers - Tramways and FIRST Union - over a collective agreement broke down over pay and conditions.
NZ Bus CEO Calum Haslop said the threat made by drivers to turn off the ticket machines and let commuters travel free was "disingenuous and incredibly unhelpful".
The strike, which was set to come into effect at 2am on Friday, would've impacted 4000 trips each day and "tens of thousands of Aucklanders", according to (AT). Union members were going to be suspended without pay.
But just before midnight on Thursday evening, AT announced a surprise U-turn that NZ Bus and bus unions had agreed to withdraw the strike.
Auckland Transport executive general manager public transport services Stacey van der Putten said the news that the bus suspensions and driver strike are over will be a relief for Aucklanders.
"I want to thank NZ Bus and representatives from Tramways and FIRST Union for bringing what would have been significant period of disruption and uncertainty for Aucklanders to an end," van der Putten said.
"If the suspension of NZ Bus services or strike action had continued next week it would have affected up to 4000 bus trips each weekday, disrupting the daily commutes of tens of thousands of Aucklanders, including thousands of school children."
Van der Putten confirmed bus services will run as usual and reminded customers to remember to tag on and off as usual.
"NZ Bus, Tramways and FIRST Union have agreed to continue discussions to complete their collective bargaining process and AT looks forward to this leading to positive outcomes for drivers and Auckland bus users," van der Putten said.
"We'd also like to thank our bus customers for their patience during this time, as well as for their ongoing support for Auckland's hard-working bus drivers."
