Bus company apologises as driver shortages hits routes across county
Driver shortages have been hitting bus services in the county – with Arriva issuing an apology to passengers because of the disruption.
The bus company said that six of its routes had been affected by driver shortages today – three in Shrewsbury and three in Oswestry.
Asked about the causes of the problems the company referred to a statement issued by CPT, a representative of the Bus Industry across the UK, which highlighted Covid, Brexit, and a backlog in tests, as the reasons behind driver shortages.
Writing on Twitter Arriva said: "Unfortunately, we are experiencing disruption to services 24, 25 & 27 in Shrewsbury and on services 2, 2A & 2C in Oswestry due to driver shortages.
"Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused."
Asked which services might be affected going forward the company advised passengers to use the Arriva journey planning app and website to check on the latest information.
The statement from CPT said: "What we are seeing are localised issues with driver availability caused by a number of issues, including drivers having to self-isolate.
“We are not seeing a shortage of people wanting to become bus drivers, recognising the strength in the sector, but currently there is a greater number of people leaving the industry due to external factors such as EU nationals choosing to return to their home countries and the pandemic meaning people are rethinking their lifestyle and choosing not to rejoin the workforce.
"A backlog at the DVLA and DVSA has meant that new entrants to the industry have faced delays securing provisional licenses and testing slots.
“We are confident that these will be short-term problems. The DVLA has confirmed that it will process new provisional license applications as a priority so new drivers can start their training as soon as possible and our members are reporting a much improved position.”
