Falkirk bus drivers reveal abuse from passengers as firm battles major staff shortages

Two First Bus drivers, who both worked at the firm’s Larbert depot, in Stirling Road, died within a fortnight of each other in February and a third passed away in March.

Now First Bus has admitted the depot is under pressure due to staff shortages and other factors.

Workers have been in touch with The Falkirk Herald stating they are having to work rest days or work on their annual leave days and shift patterns have been impacted.

They claim drivers are leaving the company because of the situation, which in turn has resulted in driver shortages and services being cut.

They also highlighted they had experienced physical and verbal abuse from passengers due to services not turning up because of the driver shortage.

Duncan Cameron, interim managing director for First Bus in Scotland, said: “We are unfortunately experiencing an unprecedented perfect storm of COVID-19-related issues.

"These include increased track and trace isolation cases, coupled with issues around DVLA delays in releasing provisional PCV licences to new candidates and an overall industry-wide driver shortage.

“In response to shortages we have adapted our network in a way that minimises disruption to our customers, while maintaining the integrity of the network and easing the pressures of the shortage on our staff.

“Our local team in Larbert are no different and are facing similar challenges. As a result, there will be occasions when staff are asked to cover overtime, but this is an optional request and not a demand.

"We are dealing with unprecedented new competition for PCV licence holders across the industry and more widely from the logistics and haulage sectors.

“As a business, we are currently reviewing our recruitment and staff retention processes in order to address these concerns.

"Following a serious outbreak at Larbert depot earlier in the pandemic, we have left no stone unturned in terms of COVID-19 safety measures for our colleagues and our customers.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FKH/V