Public bus passengers in Dunedin and Queenstown are being asked to be patient as driver sickness impacts services in both areas. Otago Regional Council regional planning and transport general manager Anita Dawe said, in a statement, sickness had hit drivers in both Queenstown and Dunedin. “Unfortunately, there’s a lot of sickness around at the moment and like many businesses, we have high numbers of drivers calling in sick in Queenstown and Dunedin, noticeably affecting our services,” Ms Dawe said. “We’re very aware of the significant disruption this causes for people who rely on our services. “We appreciate people for being patient and ask them to be kind to the drivers, who are keeping services running as best we can.” She encouraged people to check the Orbus website for any changes to services before starting their journey. “Our team is working closely with the operators to ensure all cancelled services are updated as early as possible, to enable people to better plan their journeys.” The council was working closely with both its bus operators to continue as many services as possible. Areas being prioritised included routes where there were no alternative services, and trying to ensure it could keep as many peak services on the roads as possible, she said. “We’re in constant communications with our operators to find some alternative ways to minimise disruptions as best we can.” — Allied Media
