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30
Sept 2021
Driver shortage causes bus cancellations in Harrogate district
The Harrogate Bus Company says the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is taking three times longer than usual to confirm test dates and provide licences.
A Harrogate district bus company has said a shortage of drivers has forced it to cancel "a small number" of services.
Transdev, which operates the Harrogate Bus Company, said in a statement today is has 95 trainee drivers waiting to get out on the roads.
It said the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which conducts tests, was taking three times longer than usual to confirm test dates and provide licences.
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Transdev has said it has been forced to cancel 0.8% of services for the Harrogate Bus Company as a result.
Delays to drive training is a national problem. The Confederation of Passenger Transport has warned that the delays have caused a shortage of 4,000 drivers.
Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev, said:
"We understand entirely how frustrating it is when journeys are cancelled, and it’s the last thing we want to do.
"Right now, we have 95 new colleagues at The Academy, our in-house driver training facility in Yorkshire and Lancashire.
"They just want to be out on the road serving our customers – but instead, they’re waiting over three times longer than usual to get licences
"Most of our buses are running as normal and we are attracting new drivers, so the current delays to licensing and testing are very frustrating."
Transdev has asked the government to speed up the licence application process and free up the availability of theory and practical tests.
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