INSIDE TRACK
Since I wrote my first column, there has been a lot to consider as a small to medium sized bus company. We celebrated 20 years of trading in July with a gathering of new and historic vehicles at Wetherby Racecourse, on what turned out to be one of the hottest Sundays of the year. Notwithstanding this, all went to plan, and we had a great day, preceded by one of our gatherings at our depot, which we have sporadically provided.
Thinking of this, leads me on to the continuing staffing issues, which we certainly aren’t immune to. We’ve all given fairly hefty pay rises to staff effectively starting to bring drivers wages to a level where they should be. Since de-regulation and exacerbated by the free concessionary travel scheme, drivers pay has reduced in real terms, leading the job to be thought of in a less professional light, which in turn has led to less and lower quality applicants. But, before I get reprimanded, there are still some exceptional bus and coach drivers out there, who unfortunately get lumped in with the less good quality ones.
Driver retention
The impetus seems to be that we are now, as it was described to me by a fellow operator, ‘trying to run through treacle’ and our f…
