Shortage of drivers or illness means routes cancelled

Eilish Hurley, training supervisor at Capwell bus depot, Cork. Picture: Chani Anderson

Some routes in Cork city may be cancelled due to driver illnesses or shortages, and Bus Éireann is actively recruiting people to join the company.

Bus Éireann drivers are rostered at least four weeks in advance to allow for a standby list, which consists of a list of drivers who are available to cover shifts at short notice.

“It seems like to me, if there is a driver shortage, and they don’t have someone they can ring from a standby list, the route doesn’t run. They need more drivers on their roster and in their buses,” councillor Marcia D’alton said.

Bus Éireann is actively recruiting new drivers and they offer an established training programme for B license holders to obtain a D licence, which allows you to drive a bus.

The training is provided as part of their employment with Bus Éireann.

Eilish Hurley, from Ovens is a training supervisor at Bus Éireann’s Capwell depot in Cork and says working for Bus Éireann has been a wholly positive experience.

“We have about 500 drivers in Bus Éireann (Cork city) and just less than 5% of them are women. It would be wonderful to get more women involved because it is a wonderful career,” Ms Hurley said.

Ms Hurley comes from a bus loving family as her mother started working for Bus Éireann in 1973 and all her siblings are also bus drivers.

She worked in the private bus sector for years but joined Bus Éireann in 2019.

In Ireland, you must be at least 21 years old to become a bus driver, which is an issue for bus companies as young people are already “settled into a trade or a vocation” by the time they are old enough to get a D license, according to Bus Éireann senior pperations manager south, Aled Williams.

However, Bus Éireann in Cork take in four apprentice mechanics each year and have 16 people at various stages of their career at any given time.

“It is a great way to get people in the door as we can train and develop them. Unfortunately, bus driving is different. We would like to see an apprenticeship pathway so we could sell it to people at a younger age,” Bus Éireann chief customer officer Allen Parker said.

In the UK, you can obtain your bus license at the age of 17, once you have held your car license for six months, which makes recruitment seamless compared to Ireland.

Mr Williams is from Wales and says he knows a lot of people who jumped straight into bus driving once they finished school.

“They have made very successful careers from it but unfortunately this is the way it is here,” Mr Williams said.