Moving To HGVs?

[RogerOut]

My bus company is short of drivers. Services are being cut, and there are not enough drivers to cover duties. It seems some staff are moving onto better paid jobs, or jobs with more sociable hours.

It’s no secret that’s there’s a massive HGV shortage at the moment. ( I have a HGV license). Some HGV companies are giving big pay rises to encourage drivers to stay in the job or attract new staff. The earnings published by these companies are way above what a bus driver earns. What will the bus companies do to keep staff? I just don’t think that paying local bus drivers the going rate of £10/11 per hour is going to cut it any more.

You can be a delivery driver driving a 3.5 tonne van for a supermarket for that rate, without the responsibility and stress of dealing with passengers. Obviously drivers will leave and retire, but what youngsters will replace them? What does it need to attract new staff that will stay long term?

Do you think the bus industry needs a massive overhaul?

 

[FredH]

At the Tesco warehouse between Livingston and Bathgate there is an advert for HGV drivers offering £38 per hour. I'm currently earning £10.75 per hour, so it's a no-brainer what I'm going to do next. There is no way bus companies can offer anything approaching that.

 

[notadriver]

The problem is the queue to get a test. I understand there is a long waiting list.

 

[Bletchleyite]

At the tesco warehouse between Livingston and Bathgate there is an ad for HGV drivers offering £38 per hour. Currently earning £10.75 per hour. It's no-brainer what i'm going to do next. There is no way bus companies can offer anything approaching that.

Most HGV work involves overnighting away from home, does it not? Unlikely to ever attract many young people with families to do that for any money.

 

[Jim Jehosofat]

Most HGV work involves overnighting away from home, does it not? Unlikely to ever attract many young people with families to do that for any money.

When I worked for Tesco it certainly didn't. Shifts were up to 12 hours with round the clock working, just like railway workers!

 

[37114]

At the Tesco warehouse between Livingston and Bathgate there is an advert for HGV drivers offering £38 per hour. I'm currently earning £10.75 per hour, so it's a no-brainer what I'm going to do next. There is no way bus companies can offer anything approaching that.

I suspect that £38 per hour is a very headline grabbing rate that Agency are paying that you will earn for working a night shift on a Bank Holiday on overtime. Typically the more normal rate will be somewhere between £12 and £20 per hour depending on location, premiums, type of work (eg Artic vs rigid, multi drop vs single drop, ADR or not etc), weekend work etc. Also expect rates to drop back down when more drivers come on board. That is also why companies are pursuing juicy welcome bonuses which can be easily discontinued in the future.

Most HGV work involves overnighting away from home, does it not? Unlikely to ever attract many young people with families to do that for any money.

Night out work is in the minority now. It has been declining for years, and outside of general haulage it is rare. The antisocial and long hours that the job entail do indeed dissuade people from the taking the job when you can earn a similar hourly rate elsewhere.

 

[lakeland844]

It is really quite sad how some of the major bus companies have allowed the pay rates to fall so far behind.
Last week I worked an 11 and a half hour shift during which I drove a double deck duty with 91 school kids on board - a big responsibility and got paid £10.78 an hour for the privilege ?
In a few days time I will be leaving the job I have enjoyed and valued for the past 11 years and going to drive an artic loaded with crushed stone from a local quarry -one load point - one drop point - no hassle - 6am start - 4.30pm finish - no weekends -no over nighters - boring job I know but £250 quid a week better off !
I have very mixed emotions about leaving the buses after some very happy times but seriously - it's a no brainer !
The bus industry management needs to wake up and start valuing their experienced drivers and what they do for the benefit of the company day in day out and pay them a decent rate !!!

 

[mjc]

The bus industry management needs to wake up and start valuing their experienced drivers and what they do for the benefit of the company day in day out and pay them a decent rate !!!

Sad to hear that you’re, effectively, being forced to leave and good luck with the new job.
I understand your closing comment but I think it needs a wider waking-up and as a whole society we need to really rethink transport, how we do it and how we fund it. (And we need to lose the snobbery! Our local rail station car park was regularly full pre-COVID mid-week, so people were willing to pay £12 a day parking plus fuel (and other car bills) but not £5 for a day bus ticket. Madness!

 

[thejuggler]

My daughter gets the bus, which is operated by a local coach company, to school.
I'm used to seeing just their coaches when I pick up, but last week they had to subcontract to smaller owner/operators due to a lack of drivers. Many have left whilst on furlough to get other jobs and they aren't returning.

However due to the huge reduction in demand for coaches for holidays, school trips, day trips etc they don't have a need to employ more drivers just to cover a few hours doing school runs.

 

[RT4038]

The bus industry management needs to wake up and start valuing their experienced drivers and what they do for the benefit of the company day in day out and pay them a decent rate !!!

Probably when the passengers wake up and start valuing their ride at a higher fare than now? Wake up driver, smell the coffee .... not enough people want to become your customers, so management can afford to pay you a decent rate.

 

[Stan Drews]

The bus industry management needs to wake up and start valuing their experienced drivers and what they do for the benefit of the company day in day out and pay them a decent rate !!!

Most of the people I know in management positions are well aware of this issue. However, there is no easy way to fund any substantial increase in staff pay rates. Without any external funding sources, the only way to fund it would be through increased fare revenues. That isn’t easy to achieve, as there are so many external factors currently working against making buses more attractive, and fare rises rarely bring in anything like the desired extra revenue.

It has been much easier for the haulage industry to pass on additional costs, as the person paying the increased rates isn’t usually the ultimate customer, so they don’t seem to get the same resistance when they tweak prices up a few pence. The bus industry doesn’t enjoy that ability to pass on additional costs without significant pushback from their customers.

However, most politicians are advocating better terms and conditions, and cheaper fares, so clearly there is a large pot of funding lurking somewhere, to make it all better!

 

[Robertj21a]

Most of the people I know in management positions are well aware of this issue. However, there is no easy way to fund any substantial increase in staff pay rates. Without any external funding sources, the only way to fund it would be through increased fare revenues. That isn’t easy to achieve, as there are so many external factors currently working against making buses more attractive, and fare rises rarely bring in anything like the desired extra revenue.

It has been much easier for the haulage industry to pass on additional costs, as the person paying the increased rates isn’t usually the ultimate customer, so they don’t seem to get the same resistance when they tweak prices up a few pence. The bus industry doesn’t enjoy that ability to pass on additional costs without significant pushback from their customers.

However, most politicians are advocating better terms and conditions, and cheaper fares, so clearly there is a large pot of funding lurking somewhere, to make it all better!

Good summary. In most of the UK (excluding London), passengers probably already consider bus fares to be a bit on the high side and they only look more reasonable over longer distances or if you can use some form of group, or Rover, ticket. For the ordinary commuter or shopper it's become a serious cost and, for many, an uncomfortable experience.

 

[chorleyjeff]

Sad to hear that you’re, effectively, being forced to leave and good luck with the new job.
I understand your closing comment but I think it needs a wider waking-up and as a whole society we need to really rethink transport, how we do it and how we fund it. (And we need to lose the snobbery! Our local rail station car park was regularly full pre-COVID mid-week, so people were willing to pay £12 a day parking plus fuel (and other car bills) but not £5 for a day bus ticket. Madness!

It's not just transport. The general point, to me, is that Govt. should not have to top up wages of people in full time employment to achieve a barely OK standard of living thereby subsidising employers. Low wages also, generally, inhibit investment in improved productivity.