(16 Dec 2021, 4:47 pm)Keeiajs X9/X10

X9 has been temporarily suspended.

(16 Dec 2021, 6:44 pm)V514DFT Since when?

(16 Dec 2021, 6:51 pm)Michael From the 18th December

https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/timetable-changes-x9-and-x10-saturday-18-december?fbclid=IwAR1v1HwGOkYt5-GCh-n5CYTT2BWNyqOXbSx2GGacsLEDXtP0JxQK_R3rigw

(16 Dec 2021, 9:48 am)Andreos1 https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19788420.rising-job-vacancies-harder-fill-teesside/

ANE situation in Darlington and Teesside.

(16 Dec 2021, 7:16 pm)Driver9*** "Starting salary of £24000"

Absolute bollocks. New starter rate at Arriva Durham/Stockon etc is £10.10/hr, at Jesmond/Blyth/Ashington it's £9.30/hr. To earn that much you would have to work roughly 46 hours a week at Durham and almost 50 hours a week at J/B/A.

(16 Dec 2021, 12:39 pm)Chris 1 I assume that's 190 across Darlington & Stockton, rather than just for Darlington as it reads.

Gotta love the advert for free LGV training alongside the story on the Echo website...

(16 Dec 2021, 9:13 pm)Adrian Although it says average, your calculations are roughly the same as mine.

I don't know why operators refer to it as a salary either. Unless I'm missing something, bus drivers are generally not salaried staff and instead work on a 'time work' (or hourly rate) basis, rather than a salary being paid in instalments across 12 months, 52 weeks or whatever else.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons we're failing to attract drivers? Working for £24k a year might sound attractive enough to apply, but when you're then told you start on £9.30 an hour (which will be minimum wage come April 2022), the prospect doesn't sound so attractive after all.

---

All the more reason to be more attractive than comparative jobs. The value of driving work has been undermined for years, and the consequences of withdrawing from the largest labour market in the world is now showing through.

When you live by capitalism, you die by capitalism.

(17 Dec 2021, 10:11 am)Driver9*** They did advertise the £9.30/hr starting rate on the big adverts on the back of a few buses for a week or two but quiclkly changed it to "Up to £24000 a year" when they realised how pathetic £9.30/hr sounds.

(17 Dec 2021, 1:14 pm)Chris 1 Subjective of course, £24k does sound better than £9.30 in my opinion.  From your comments above, I assume that's with a days overtime each week though which makes it sound not quite as good!

I've seen a similar add on facebook recently for Stagecoach.  "Up to £26k* after 2 years" was the headline, not so obvious was the disclaimer that the asterisk was referring to.

(17 Dec 2021, 1:32 pm)Adrian Of course it sounds better, but like I wrote earlier, is this not a factor in why operators are struggling to recruit drivers? 

If I was told I would receive a salary of X but then told I'd have to work 48-50 hours a week to make that, and that it's actually worked time rather than a salary, then it's clearly not as attractive as what's being advertised and I'd probably feel like I'm being duped by the prospective employer. 

(17 Dec 2021, 1:41 pm)Andreos1 Tie in that with some poor management, lots of responsibility, being monitored for every move you make... Not likely to help with the attrition.

I've often wondered if some sort of bonus (attractive and realistic), would help reduce turnover. Obviously in addition to many other improvements.

I've just received a bonus of the equivalent of 2 weeks salary for doing my job. If I had performed even better, I'd have been rewarded even more. 
Tie that in with a couple of other incentives/bonuses over the course of a year and for those who are motivated by financial reward, then they're going to be a little happier.

(17 Dec 2021, 1:55 pm)Rob44 Less time on here mate and you'll be flush LOL

(17 Dec 2021, 1:14 pm)Chris 1 Subjective of course, £24k does sound better than £9.30 in my opinion.  From your comments above, I assume that's with a days overtime each week though which makes it sound not quite as good!

I've seen a similar add on facebook recently for Stagecoach.  "Up to £26k* after 2 years" was the headline, not so obvious was the disclaimer that the asterisk was referring to.

(17 Dec 2021, 3:51 pm)54APhotography Bus travel around Sunderland today has been an utter farce with multiple cancellations and insane traffic caused by more pointless lane closures. Timetabling went out of the window by 10am

(18 Dec 2021, 6:35 pm)Train8261 Looks like these cancellations are getting worse and now seem to be affecting Percy Main Depot with a few journeys being cancelled on the 1/309/310/311

(18 Dec 2021, 6:41 pm)Keeiajs Yeah, I noticed that seems to be the first time they have ever, or atleast for a few months. 

Deptford is starting to creep up especially this week it has been bad. I was at Park lane the other day there was 3 20's, 3 56's, 2 Berries, 1 Purples, 2x Drifters, a 9, and 2 berries + a 78 parked at Stand R. One of the 60 were at Stand E and another at the 61 side of parklane parked up at the side.

(18 Dec 2021, 6:41 pm)Keeiajs Yeah, I noticed that seems to be the first time they have ever, or atleast for a few months. 

Deptford is starting to creep up especially this week it has been bad. I was at Park lane the other day there was 3 20's, 3 56's, 2 Berries, 1 Purples, 2x Drifters, a 9, and 2 berries + a 78 parked at Stand R. One of the 60 were at Stand E and another at the 61 side of parklane parked up at the side.