(27 Mar 2016, 1:10 pm)palatine3833 wrote You have to look at the bigger picture though.  Yes, demand is greater on Easter weekends etc., but the drivers also have families that they would like to spend the time of year with.  Since it's a bank holiday, the company has to rely on volunteers to work the holiday - if you don't have the volunteers, you can't operate the services.  Then you also have to look at the additional costs of operating on such holidays, since the drivers that do volunteer will need an incentive to do so.  I agree that some parts of the region need higher operating levels on these holidays and that a Sunday service is, in the most part, inadequate, so maybe operators could design a 'special timetable' to relieve the crowds.

But there's a business to run at the end of the day. You can't just stick two fingers up at your customers, because you want to ensure that all your staff have a day off on a bank holiday, especially when there's no statutory requirement.

I can't understand why a company would need to rely on volunteers? If you know you need to provide a service to your customers on bank holidays, then you'd ensure that contracts of employment don't stipulate 'no bank holiday working'. I appreciate that legacy contracts in some organisations may include this, but there's no reason why new starters have to come in on those terms.

Having a look around us:
- Arriva Yorkshire: Saturday timetable on Good Friday
- Lothian Buses: Saturday timetable on Good Friday and Easter Monday
- West Yorkshire Metro area: Saturday timetable on Good Friday

Something needs to change.