Passengers fume at drivers' bad English

Bus companies in the Black Country are being criticised for employing foreign drivers who can't speak English, leaving them unable to communicate with passengers.

A passenger forum run by Centro has received complaints from Walsall bus users about a language barrier with foreign drivers who don't speak English.

Bus companies have today defended themselves saying not enough English people are applying for jobs as bus drivers, leaving them to rely mainly on Poles.

It follows similar complaints about taxi drivers.

This sparked a council decision to test drivers on basic language skills before giving them a job.

The issue is to be raised at the next meeting of Walsall Transport Users' Forum next Tuesday at The Council House, Lichfield Street, Walsall.

Centro says it is going to investigate the complaints made about companies including Wednesfield based Choice Travel and A2Z Travel in Marlow Street, Walsall.

Baz Coombes, spokesman for Centro, said: "We will raise these concerns with the appropriate operators."

Mr David Reeves, managing director of D&G Coach and Bus Ltd, which owns Choice Travel, said his company employed 100 drivers with about 20 per cent of the workforce Polish. The company serves the whole of the Black Country and parts of Shropshire and Worcestershire.

Mr Reeves said: "We do employ people who do not have English as their first language, the reason for that is because we cannot recruit enough staff with English as their first language.

"I would like to recruit more drivers with better English but it is not an ideal world."

He added: "While it is important bus drivers have a good standard of communication the most important thing is that they can drive to a good standard.

"It is not exactly the same as taxi drivers as they obviously have to be able to converse with the passenger while our drivers are on a set route."

Mr Reeves said he welcomed the idea of a language course and some of his drivers were already on an NVQ course to speak better English.

A basic skills test for Walsall taxi drivers came into force last month in the borough in a bid to improve the standard of English among cabbies.