(19 Dec 2021, 4:59 pm)Adrian wrote Seems to happen regular at the weekends. Perhaps a knowledge gap with whoever is responsible for updating those lists over the weekend.The issues over dwindling staff rights and pay awards is one wholly brought about by conservatism, the moment services went from public service to profit ventures changed everything, and the 36 years that have passed have for 23 been under conservative rule where rights and values have been stripped away from anyone outside of the elite. I wont say the 13 years of Labour were much better, the shift to charm centrists guaranteed no heavy duty social policy.
I agree though. Most will check the Saturday listing at the top only and think Sunday is not published yet.
It may not be solely the fault of bus companies, but they are a long-standing factor in the problem.
If bus companies cannot retain and recruit staff, that is down to them and them alone. The industry has spent decades driving down costs, keeping pay rises to a minimum and destroying terms and conditions. What may have been an attractive role back then is not the same role now, and if you haven't got the T&Cs or working conditions in your favour, then it solely comes down to money. Cannot blame drivers one bit for taking up a HGV job, working similarly awful shifts in similar conditions, minus working with the general public, for a lot more money.
As Andreos1 pointed out earlier, operators must be spending fortunes on recruitment and the associated costs, and have done for years. Brexit has of course added to it, but it's not a new problem. It's one that hasn't been addressed for decades.
Agree with the comments re: deckers, but I hope when committing to an early run-off this year, there's a sufficient contingency plan in place to ensure that none of the last runs are cancelled.
I can't see Boxing Day being that busy to be honest, especially with no home games and the Government's recent change in messaging.
I agree a customer service offering could be a help, but I don't think any of the operators will be providing any for the four days 25th - 29th. I can't see any posts to say what the opening hours are though.
In that time the public has put up with cuts, route revisions and deviations, direct links constantly cut as companies chase subsidies and divert fast routes to meandering and tedious journeys. All the while car ownership has gone off the face of the earth mainly thanks to finance, so bus companies never did enough to fight that whilst trying to pay a dividend to shareholders.
Where we are today has roots in all of that, Brexit, Incompetent governance, Covid, and despite the lies of the ONS and the regime a recession that has never gone away since 2008.Now we have all major transport plans torn up by the home counties regime, so with everything else arrive at xmas 2021 with the worst services in recent memory.
But I still stand by my comment that the exodus for temporarily high paid HGV driving was the single largest factor in the last twelve months, I do hope the industry recovers to a point that when the HGV companies terminate all contracts and offer much lower contracts as an exchange, when sense hits, the bus companies don't welcome them back with open arms...