Driver Shortages Sub-Group
Background and Context
As the Covid-19 pandemic was ending, the Scottish bus industry faced an unprecedented shortage of drivers. This was particularly acute during 2022 and posed a significant barrier to bus operators and the wider bus network’s ability to recover from the pandemic. A key issue was that with employment at a record high, and many other industries facing similar issues, there was, and continues to be, intense competition to attract new employees.
Bus operators have taken action to make themselves as attractive as possible as employers; a significant modernisation has taken place in many operators to improve pay, terms and conditions and the overall employment offering. However, there are a range of other factors in relation to the shortage that were viewed to be beyond the control of individual operators.
Focused action was required to engage with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority to encourage improvements in licence processes, waiting times and to make the industry more accessible and attractive as a career choice. The sub- group began work in November 2022 and ran for 6 months. The group was chaired by Sarah Boyd, Managing Director of Lothian Buses.
Purpose
The Driver Shortage Sub-group established 3 key workstreams:
- Licence & process improvements
- Exploring alternative recruitment opportunities
- Raising the profile of the role of bus driving as a career
Sub-Group Structure
The sub-group comprised of representatives of the organisations below:
- Representative for large bus operators
- Representative for small/medium bus operators
- Transport Scotland
- Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT)
- Unite Scotland
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
- Department for Transport (DfT)
Actions & Outputs
Actions and output within each of the 3 key workstreams can be summarised as follows:
Workstream 1 - Licence & Process Improvements
Item 1
The sub-group identified concerns with the achievement of timelines for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to process license applications as set out in their Service Level Agreement which was contributing to delays in newly recruited drivers commencing work.
Action and Output
DVLA reaffirmed commitment to achieve 3-5 days turnaround for cases that don’t need medical follow up. However, the timescale will be longer should medical follow up be required to ensure safety of passengers.
Item 2
The sub-group identified that a change to secondary legislation to allow operators to undertake classroom-based tests prior to a provisional PCV licence being obtained would speed up process.
Action and Output
The sub-group wrote to the UK Government Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Roads and Local Transport), Richard Holden, MP, to request consideration of this change.
Workstream 2 - Exploring Alternative Recruitment Opportunities
Item 3
The sub-group identified that additional support for operator recruitment processes from the UK Government Department for Work & Pensions would be helpful.
Action and output
DWP attended a sub-group meeting and described the support available to operators. This was followed up with a presentation to Scottish operators at a CPT Scotland Bus Commission meeting.
Item 4
The sub-group identified that there was an opportunity through the Ukranian Exchange Agreement lead by the UK Government to allow holders of a Ukrainian licence to drive larger vehicles to exchange it for a UK equivalent which would allow them to work as a driver in the UK.
Action and Output
The UK Government is working on the Ukranian Exchange Agreement which seeks to enable a Ukrainian PCV licence to be exchanged for a UK one.
Item 5
The sub-group undertook to make representations to the UK Government for the profession of bus driver to be added to the Shortage Occupation List.
Action and Output
Workstream 3 - Raising the profile of the role of bus driving as a career
Item 6
Investigate the possibility of bus driver qualifications.
Action and Output
The sub-group held a meeting with Skills Development Scotland and had follow up discussion with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
Two options are currently being considered. – the reintroduction of the previous SVQ and the accreditation of the existing Lothian Training Programme for bus drivers.
Item 7
Explore the potential of a Driver Apprenticeship Scheme.
Action and Output
Lothian will continue discussions with SDS/SQA on this as Item 7 develops.
Item 8
Continue to collaborate to explore options to reduce instances of antisocial behaviour on buses, including following publication of the U22s scheme one year evaluation.
Action and Output
Operators to complete the Transport Scotland review of the scheme questionnaire.
The work of the Driver Shortages Sub-group has already led to a number of positive changes which in turn have assisted in alleviating the recruitment challenge that the bus industry faced.
Operators in Scotland report an improved resourcing position from this time last year, with the industry estimating that shortages fell from 14% in September 2022 to under 4% by the end of September 2023. As a result, operators are losing far less mileage due to driver shortage. Ultimately, this should mean increased reliability and an improved customer experience.
Case Study: Workforce Mobility
A recent initiative from the Workforce Mobility Project brought together a superb collaboration of bus operators in the South east of Scotland. The website Bus Driver Careers Helix was developed to support and promote bus driving as a career. The webpage includes various resources to be used by regional partners and people seeking employment opportunities:
- The main video includes an honest review of bus driving from current employees from various operators and the reasons why they have chosen it as a career
- Three shorter videos highlight how bus operators’ investment in drivers, the opportunities for career progression and benefits of the job
- A regional breakdown of bus operators is provided, with hyperlinks to their websites for candidates to review job opportunities and access information on ‘how to apply’
- Downloadable posters for placement in public spaces (including QR codes to automatically direct users to the webpage)
- Downloadable posters for promotion on social media channels