The Rail, Tram and Bus Union and the council have been clashing over the rate of a pay rise to be included in the EBA, with the RTBU wanting 3.5 per cent for the next three years and an $800 signing bonus and the council refusing to budge on its offer of 2.5 per cent over the three years and a $400 bonus.

Throughout the negotiations, council public transport chairman Adrian Schrinner has repeatedly said Brisbane's bus drivers were the best paid in the state, the second best in Australia, and that they should be happy with the pay offer.

"Obviously, if this offer that we put on the table was below inflation, the union would be right to be screaming about it," he said.

"But, 2.5 per cent is above inflation, it's above the cost of living increases."

Cr Schrinner revealed the average salary of a Brisbane bus driver was $68,398, or $34.61 an hour.

There are 16 bands of payment for bus drivers, from Trainee Level 1 through to Bus Operator 4.5.

"Pay ranges from the high $40,000 as a minimum starting wage and goes all the way up to the top, which is $102,000," Cr Schrinner said.

"Now that $102,000 is not necessarily guaranteed every year but is based on work the driver is doing.

"There could have been a lot of overtime involved in that, there could have been that person did lots of special events."

Cr Schrinner said 660 of the 2200 bus drivers in Brisbane were at the highest pay level or Bus Operator 4.5, or $27.12 an hour.

The latest data from the Australian Tax Office (2014-2015) revealed the average wage of a male bus driver was $52,827 while a female earned $44,089.

That compared with other drivers' average salaries:

• Taxi driver: $24,510 (male) or $26,893 (female)
• Chauffeur / hire care driver: $42,308 (male) or $31,170 (female)
• Coach driver: $49,947 (male) or $41,578 (female)
• Train driver: $108,903 (male) or $92,242 (female)
• Tram driver: $77,986 (male) or $67,501 (female)

On Wednesday, the RTBU released a statement that said union member drivers would continue to refuse to collect fares on Thursday and Friday as part of ongoing protected industrial action.

"Our drivers need better protection in the workplace, rosters that don't lead to driver fatigue and the safety risks of tired drivers at the wheel, and fair pay," the statement said.

Cr Schrinner said there had been progress made in the negotiation with the union on safety.

"The RTBU has decided and agreed that safety issues should be dealt with separately to the current industrial action," he said.

"So that's off the table in terms of the current industrial actions and the strikes.

"We've both agreed this needs to be dealt with, but not in this ultra-hot situation of industrial action. It needs to be dealt with calmly in a very practical way that would make a difference and so we've agreed to do that."???

RTBU secretary Tom Brown said there had been some exchanges and limited progress made in driver safety.

"There is still a lot of ground to be addressed to secure commitments in the agreement which are binding on the parties," he said.