Transport bosses vow to improve West Midlands bus services with action plan amid staffing crisis
Transport bosses have vowed to improve bus services in the region with the launch of a 10-step action plan amid a crisis in staffing.
National Express West Midlands has apologised to passengers for poor services, saying the company has been hit by a driver shortage.
Bosses say the travel operator has even had to draft in office workers to drive some routes.
It comes after passengers have complained to the firm – which has been struggling with staffing numbers since Covid restrictions were lifted – over delays and cancelled services.
But the company, which says it currently has seven per cent fewer bus drivers than it needs, has responded by launching a 10-step action plan with the aim of improving services.
It has pledged to pay its workers more, invest in training, zero emission vehicles and its garages, among other measures.
The company says staff who are normally office-based, and are trained to drive a bus, have also been "out on the roads every day serving our customers" as bosses have declared an "all hands on deck" approach.
In a statement, National Express West Midlands said: "If you’ve been on one of our buses recently, you may have experienced a delay, it might have been very busy or even the bus might not have turned up.
"We exist for our customers and, because we know how important it is to get you from A to B, we are sincerely sorry if we let you down.
"We wanted to let you know why this is happening and what we’re doing about it.
"As things have re-opened post-pandemic, we’ve experienced a driver shortage in the West Midlands. And it’s not just us, there’s a shortage of drivers across the UK.
"We’re known as a good employer in the West Midlands, which has helped cushion the blow to some extent but we still have seven per cent fewer bus drivers than we need – and that means sometimes services are late, busy or cancelled.
"Please bear with us. Our intention is that things should get better over the next few weeks and months."
Among the measures being taken, the firm says it has agreed a new set of terms and conditions which will see a typical full-time bus driver paid £28,500 a year, with the chance to earn more with overtime.
Bosses have pledged that there will be improved flexible working, with part-time work, four-day weeks and shorter week options available.
National Express has also hired more trainers and bought high-tech bus simulators to help people learn the ropes.
And to make it easier for new recruits to be trained, it has expanded its training school from one to four in key locations around the region.
On top of that, it is currently building a new high-specification garage in Perry Barr as well as investing in its nine other garages around the West Midlands, and further investment is being made in zero emission vehicles to make the West Midlands "cleaner and greener".
Further work is being carried out with police and Transport for West Midlands through the Safer Travel Partnership to crack down on any troublemaking travellers.
Transport chiefs say they expect the situation to improve over the next few weeks and months.
They have also advised passengers to use an app such as Google Maps to check when their bus is coming in real time.
Anyone interested in a career with National Express can visit careers.nationalexpress.com/search.
