The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) has put out a call urging the government to remove a set of barriers preventing new bus drivers from starting their careers.
CPT has called on the government to remove the 50km regular service limit for 18-19 year olds, as well as to begin allowing training before a provisional license has been issued.
Currently; young people under the age of 20 years old looking to drive buses are restricted to operating regular services of no more than 50km per service, excluding new drivers from a large amount of potential work.
New recruits are also unable to undertake the theory and or off-road modules of their driver CPC test until their license has been granted, a process that can take weeks or even – in some cases – months.
Currently; the UK is facing a 3.4% shortage of bus drivers and a 12.4% shortage of coach drivers – the equivalent to a shortfall of more than 4,000 drivers across the country.
CPT believes that the removal of the aforementioned restrictions will expedite the recruitment process, solving driver shortages and getting more vehicles on the road.
Keith McNally, Operations Director at CPT, said:The evidence is clear: age itself is not a key determinant of collision risk - experience is. DfT and DVLA data shows that young vocational drivers have fewer collisions than their peers with car licences and perform comparably with drivers aged 21 and over.
At the same time, long waits for provisional licences mean too many willing applicants drift to other sectors before they can even start training. Tackling both of these issues would make a real difference to driver numbers.
The call follows the government’s recent decision to lower the minimum age for train drivers to 18, with a recent public consultation also held on removing the existing 50km restriction for drivers aged 18-19. However, no outcome has yet been published.
