They tried this with me for a while. What most drivers seem to do is give the guy helping them just enough work to make 9.5.
I made sure to give away much more work then I needed to. So that I was in under 9 hours. When management would complain I would tell them. "If you're going to leave it up to me to make 9.5 then I'm going to make sure I do."
After horrible numbers on my route and who ever had to help me route also. They started sending me out with less. Not saying it will work in your center but I recommend trying it. Come in at 8.5 3 days in a row and watch them freak out.