5-5-5/bus strike UPDATE

After speaking with a Regional Council member and a person dealing with transport contracts at ARTA (ARC's transport body) I can report the following as regards the Auckland bus drivers strike against Stagecoach:

The parties are settled on the conditions, shifts etc. but are still in disagreement over the pay and when/how it will be rolled out. The term of three years may be agreed.

The 5-5-5 idea rests on the "Maximum Fare Structure" that is part of all the bus companies subsidy contracts. At present all companies are at that maximum already for stages 1-6. They are:
Stage 1-$1.30
Stage 2-$2.60
Stage 3-$3.60
Stage 4-$4.60
Stage 5-$5.40
Stage 6-$6.10

The structure is reviewed by an external auditor on a regular basis (apparently) and costs of labour and diesel are taken into consideration at that stage. I was told that it is still the ARC itself that sets the structure. The legal framework is still hazy until I hear back from some people but it may be possible to get the ARC on board to change the structure. One effect of 5-5-5 would be we would not need to pay for these audits anymore. We are already saving money! The point is that when the drivers get an increase the fares will rise anyway under the current system but we don't know when and how much. This would provide certainty to the process so we go into it with our eyes open.

I would think putting an extra 20c on all the stages would be a simple solution. That would be a 15% increase to Stage 1, a 7.6% to stage 2, 5.5% to stage 3, 4.3% to stage 4, 3.7% to stage 5, and 3.3% to stage 6. So, overall probably more than 5%. But close enough. I understand that some companies might make a small windfall profit if they choose to put their prices up to the max. but so what. I hope other passengers feel as generous as I am, or regard the certainty as a trade-off worth having.

A problem may be the three year deal that Stagecoach management are after. 5 would be preferable but I can't see that happening without a 30c hike and the restart of negotiations... Hmmm. Will find out more tomorrow.

Stagecoach are prepared to stomach a week long strike and resultant revenue hit to keep the wages down. As time wears on they will hope that the passengers will turn against the drivers. I hope that does not occur.