Axe teenage bus and coach driver limits amid staff shortage, industry says

Ministers are being urged to scrap “outdated” restrictions on teenage bus and coach drivers to ease a nationwide staffing shortage.

Industry body the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) called on the Government to “unlock the potential of young people”.

Bus and coach drivers under 20 are banned from operating services longer than 50km (31 miles) in the UK.

This is despite qualified 18 and 19-year-olds being permitted to drive articulated lorries or petrol tankers with no distance limit.

Restrictions on bus and coach drivers that age exclude them from the vast majority of coach work, as well as many bus routes outside major towns and cities.

The CPT said the 50km limit should be lifted for 18 and 19-year-olds as it is hampering operators’ recruitment efforts.

It stated that the proportion of unfilled coach and bus driver roles in the UK is 12.4% and 3.4% respectively, resulting in a total shortfall of more than 4,000 drivers.

CPT operations director Keith McNally told the PA news agency: “The evidence is clear: age itself is not a key determinant of collision risk – experience is.

“Department for Transport (DfT) and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency data shows that young vocational drivers have fewer collisions than their peers with car licences, and perform comparably with drivers aged 21 and over.”

Aidan Travasso, who turned 20 earlier this month, became a driver for Swindon-based Barnes Coaches when he was 18 and was disappointed to discover he could not fulfil most of the company’s contracts.

He said: “It didn’t make sense. My driving ability didn’t change between the day before and the day after my 20th birthday.

“Now I can drive longer routes, it’s much more fun. I just wish I could have started sooner.”

The DfT announced in May it will lower the minimum age for train drivers from 20 to 18 to ease staff shortages.

A consultation on a proposal to take similar action for bus and coach drivers was conducted by the Conservative government last year, but no outcome has been published.

The CPT also warned that “many willing applicants drift to other sectors” because they cannot start training until they have received their provisional licence, which “often takes weeks or months”.

The body called for this requirement to be dropped.

CPT chief executive Graham Vidler said: “We all want safe, reliable and affordable bus and coach services.

“The quickest way to support that is to unlock the potential of young people who are eager to start their careers in our sector.

“The Government has already taken this step for rail – now it’s time to back Britain’s buses and coaches by removing these outdated restrictions.”

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden said scrapping the 50km limit would “open up new opportunities for young drivers, strengthen the coach and bus sectors, and get more services running in rural communities”.

He went on: “This is exactly what we wanted to deliver in government.

“Labour promised to follow through, but nearly a year later they’ve slammed on the brakes.

“Every week they delay is another week villages are left cut off, operators short of drivers, and young people locked out of work.

“It’s time they stopped dithering and backed this plan.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Better buses are central to the Government’s Plan for Change, and after decades of decline, we’re providing £1 billion in funding this year to improve the reliability and frequency of bus services across the country through our landmark Bus Services Bill.

“The previous government did not publish a response to its consultation on amendments to bus and coach licensing restrictions before it left office.

“We are now working closely with operators to obtain further evidence and will then consider next steps.”