tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post8224522622325381514..comments2024-03-29T07:01:08.281+00:00Comments on Plymothian Transit: Lack of drivers driving the country downdidbygrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01858408719372985035noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-11783799523182976622021-09-15T14:56:04.553+01:002021-09-15T14:56:04.553+01:00I don't understand why "pings" would...I don't understand why "pings" would still be an issue. It no longer applies to the double vaccinated and over 80% of the adult population are double vaccinated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-29234490001839116352021-09-13T22:00:24.294+01:002021-09-13T22:00:24.294+01:00I forgot about the issue of getting the necessary ...I forgot about the issue of getting the necessary medicals - its hard enough getting a medical appt for an urgent problem let alone a medical at the moment<br />didbygrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858408719372985035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-56824931964078037562021-09-13T21:55:37.228+01:002021-09-13T21:55:37.228+01:00I think you are placing too much emphasis on the w...I think you are placing too much emphasis on the word "reporting" - these days all it means is printing press releases and watching what happens on Twitter / Facebook. Citybus is excellent at reporting all the services it has to cancel. Stagecoach is a lot more hit & miss on this. somedays they do, other tim4es it hidden deep within their awful web site. didbygrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858408719372985035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-14667270866953370842021-09-13T19:12:34.092+01:002021-09-13T19:12:34.092+01:00Bus drivers are leaving to be lorry drivers becaus...Bus drivers are leaving to be lorry drivers because there's a shortage, because of Brexit. Feel sorry for the bus drivers at the moment to be honest with you. Totally agree theyre leaving for better paid jobs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-70865017952698772142021-09-13T12:03:16.989+01:002021-09-13T12:03:16.989+01:00Nonsense.
The issues are:
1. Covid has produced a...Nonsense. <br />The issues are:<br />1. Covid has produced a speed up in the creation of lots of local delivery jobs. <br />2. HGV shortages aren’t the biggest issue but they are pushing across in the overall jobs market. <br />3. EU nationals have left the U.K. jobs market in significant numbers. <br />4. Bus company recruitment stopped while we had staff on furlough and reduced work, while natural turnover continued (eg retirements)<br />5. I have dozens of people wanting to drive my buses at our current rates but there is a huge delay at DVLA with granting provisional licences, amd getting medicals is difficult. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-26659415955156394612021-09-13T09:44:38.915+01:002021-09-13T09:44:38.915+01:00I'm not sure anyone did blame Boris but a numb...I'm not sure anyone did blame Boris but a number of the issues have been affected by government decisions:<br /> 1. Operators are struggling to get new drivers through the system - the DVLA (a government agency) have reportedly been suffering from a 2 or 3 month backlog on processing licensing applications (due to staff shortages, both COVID related & persistent & pre-COVID issues & industrial action).<br /> 2. Having gone for the hardest of Brexit options and not choosing to include transport (either buses and/or trucks) as an industry which has a staff shortage which would allow more work permits for foreign staff to be recruited to bridge the gap.<br /> 3. The government (both local & national) have reduced funding for bus services support and make little reference to quality favoring the lowest bidder holding down income and as wages are the largest cost for operators that limits what can be offered.<br /> 4. The government has increased the amount of fuel tax paid by bus operators (by repeatedly reducing the rebate on fuel duty for bus operators) increasing costs for operators.<br /> 5. The government (this was the previous Labour government but the current Tory one has not only not fixed the issue but made it worst) has introduced various schemes which remove the operators control over their income - Concessionary Fares is the most obvious where operators not only cannot determine what payment they receive per passenger paid but get penalised by reduced reimbursement if they try to recoup that shortfall by increasing normal fares.<br /><br />I agree that the issue is that bus driving is a skilled job that doesn't receive as high a wage as that skill deserves but the problem is that wider society doesn't value that job sufficiently to be prepared (either directly through the fares they pay or indirectly through their taxes funding things properly) to pay the money necessary to allow operators to pay their staff the wage they deserve. Most companies are not making large profits, margins at many companies were closer to 5% than 10% before COVID and so any significant wage increase would wipe out all smaller companies in short order (especially since passenger numbers are still 60-70% of pre-COVID passenger numbers and government funding is reduced and is expected to finish completely at the end of the year) dwarfer1979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-71428863801025399942021-09-13T08:14:06.949+01:002021-09-13T08:14:06.949+01:00Correct. Worst offender is Stagecoach.Correct. Worst offender is Stagecoach.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-18054626196163927292021-09-13T08:13:18.338+01:002021-09-13T08:13:18.338+01:00Yes indeed poor reporting ignoring SC has far high...Yes indeed poor reporting ignoring SC has far higher missing services right across its patch, so much worse than Citybus!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-35625105167084049632021-09-12T22:29:21.198+01:002021-09-12T22:29:21.198+01:00You are right - a few of the Day Tippers were rein...You are right - a few of the Day Tippers were reinstated last week.<br />didbygrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858408719372985035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-62418539213875185772021-09-12T20:17:38.043+01:002021-09-12T20:17:38.043+01:00Sorry to disagree but how it boris's fault the...Sorry to disagree but how it boris's fault the gvmt got us out of europe after a referendum result was to leave the eu also the gvmt gave bus ops a bailout package to cover them over covid and there was the furlough scheme that paid 80% to retain staff the main problem is the wages the drivers get paid. You get told its a skilled job lives are in your hands yet you can earn more money taking burger orders at a mcdonalds or stacking shelves at lidl. Also haulage firms have increased wages due to a shortage of drivers so lets face it loyalty is a thing of past if you can get more money driving on the same roads just with a different cargo then you would be a fool not to least a tin of beans wont pick an argument with and blame you after being stick in a traffic jam because its gone a miss its flight so thats why there a shortage of pcv drivers because its an awful low paid job Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-9905386159945133852021-09-12T14:25:53.684+01:002021-09-12T14:25:53.684+01:00Atlantic Coaster reduced Thur 9 Sep to just 3 or 4...Atlantic Coaster reduced Thur 9 Sep to just 3 or 4 Newquay-Padstow services with one Perranporth return trip. No St Ives at all until next year.<br /><br />Yes Daytripper was suspended in summer but certain trips advertised returning from start of Sept school term.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-28675860410133342182021-09-12T11:35:26.659+01:002021-09-12T11:35:26.659+01:00There's a lot around Covid pings and the Brexi...There's a lot around Covid pings and the Brexit issues around drivers. Also there's a lot of drivers quitting their jobs at the moment. It's all gone a bit pear shaped for buses everywhere!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-712188279685674002021-09-12T11:09:38.525+01:002021-09-12T11:09:38.525+01:00The Daytrippers were suspended back in July, but F...The Daytrippers were suspended back in July, but FSW announced on their website that from 5th September D1, D4, D5, D7 and D8 were restarting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-48053336923013130852021-09-12T09:20:03.704+01:002021-09-12T09:20:03.704+01:00I think Daytrippers have since been reinstated I think Daytrippers have since been reinstated Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-21902092510585291772021-09-12T00:15:10.445+01:002021-09-12T00:15:10.445+01:00counting all the trips not run between the 2 compa...counting all the trips not run between the 2 companies, sc are 159 against citybus's 100, tho in fact pcb are only dropping 70 trips. but evening herald dont give them the coverage that they did to citybus....mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18028885709638430623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-44486537171887833802021-09-11T23:24:18.217+01:002021-09-11T23:24:18.217+01:00its difficult keeping up with it all at the moment...its difficult keeping up with it all at the moment, but I thought the Day Trippers were all suspended back in Julydidbygrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01858408719372985035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11828686.post-9702708345094954922021-09-11T11:58:02.563+01:002021-09-11T11:58:02.563+01:00Indeed, other European countries do not seem to be...Indeed, other European countries do not seem to be having the same issues, yet pay and conditions are generally no better than in the UK, in some cases worse. Must be something else...<br /><br />First South West is introducing its winter timetable early on the Atlantic Coaster from Sunday, but no details as yet. Strangely, bits of the Daytripper network appear to still be operating - I'd have thought they'd be the first to be sacrificed.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com