Industrial action by bus drivers that threatened to affect about 80,000 Auckland commuters has been called off, following an amended pay offer for drivers.
NZ Bus and the Auckland Combined Unions had been in talks since Tuesday morning.
Drivers had intended to work to rule on Wednesday and the company's threatened lockout of drivers has been lifted.
NZ Bus services Metrolink, North Star, Go West, Waka Pacific, Link and City Circuit will operate as usual.
Union spokesperson Karl Andersen says a stop-work meeting on Friday will be held to discuss the pay offer.
There will be no bus services for two hours from 11am on Friday.
Mr Andersen says he cannot reveal details of the new pay offer ahead of the meeting.
NZ Bus says it will not make any comment, as it does not want to negotiate through the media.
The 875 drivers affected had objected to a 9.9% pay rise over three years and sought an annual deal, including a 4% rise this year.
ARTA contingency plans
The Auckland Regional Transport Authority is welcoming the new pay offer for drivers, but is refusing to say if it has already paid for contingiency measures.
ARTA organised other bus companies to run skeleton routes for which they would have to be compensated, but will not say if it has already handed money over.
Spokesperson Mark Lambert says it is an agreement between ARTA and the other providers.
Mr Lambert says the authority still in talks with the other companies, which have given committments in case there is industrial action.
He says the timing of the stopwork meeting at 11am on Friday will avoid major disruption and some additional capacity will be put on the train network.
