East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire bus staff shortages disrupt services

Stagecoach East Midlands said despite driver shortages they were seeing "strong demand for jobs"

Bus passengers across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire could face disruption for the rest of the year due to a shortage of drivers.

Stagecoach East Midlands said it was working "round the clock" to recruit and train staff.

East Yorkshire Buses announced they were running a reduced timetable as they sought more drivers.

Director Ben Gilligan, said: "Between now and Christmas we don't think we are going to run a full service."

Mr Gilligan, for East Yorkshire Buses, added: "We have a lot of interviews going on at the moment and drivers having assessments."

The situation had worsened since the start of the new educational year in September, he said, as the company operated more than 60 journeys to schools and colleges each weekday.

He also said there were delays issuing bus driver licences at the DVLA.

However, a DVLA spokesperson said: "There are currently no delays in processing HGV and bus provisional licence applications which are currently being issued in around five days."

This passenger in Lincoln said of cancellations "There's no warning, it's just random and it's very annoying"

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Stagecoach East Midland, which run buses in Lincolnshire and parts of East Yorkshire, said it was "working incredibly hard" to run most of its timetabled services.

"As is the case with many organisations and sectors in the economy, the pandemic and Brexit is continuing to impact our business.

"We are working round the clock to recruit people into our team and train them in the roles that we need, and we are seeing a strong demand for jobs," it said in a statement.

The company cancelled 51 buses on 11 routes in Lincoln on Monday.

One of the problems facing bus companies was the higher wages available to lorry drivers, said a drivers' union.

Bobby Morton, of Unite, said: "We have the haulage industry which is short of drivers, so the bus drivers go across to them and that then creates a backlash with a shortage of bus drivers."