The great big bus driver shortage. Why in the name of god would you drive a bus these days anyway...

No it isn’t.

The NTA and bus companies need to come up with a schedule that CAN be achieved, thereby avoiding fines unless really necessary.

It would mean reduced PSO payments regardless, but those payments levels are based on the full specified service operating. If they don’t have enough staff well then payroll costs will also be lower.

To get rid of the CIE Duo, they'd have to repeal Section 52 of the Dublin Transport Authority Act of 2008 first. Said section guarantees "an exclusive right" (subsect. 1) to provide the services they did before the NTA was established, and forces the NTA to "enter into direct award contracts" (subsect. 3) that may only be reviewed "following consultation with [the Operators]" (subsect. 5). Section 52 does allow for unilateral amendments to direct award contracts (subsect. 6), but this seems to mostly refer to reducing contracts that are overblown compared to actual needs (well, at the rate BC will be developing, we shouldn't be seeing any of that, that's for sure), but it should be noted that they must at least "invite and consider submissions" relating to any changes, be it from the Operators, or from the general public.

It's not awful for the newbies. This drum is beaten too often it's only fair in my opinion that seniority is respected.

I'm guessing your one of the seniors?

I don't know someone's individual circumstances, but there is a real labour shortage in general in the economy right now, that's undeniable.

I will go back to the point that the company have only recently spent months getting a multi-year pay and conditions deal with their staff. Do you think they are suddenly going to ditch that? That deal may have changed the circumstances that the OP outlined.

At the same time, the bottom line is that you'd need additional exchequer funding to do it and that's a government issue as I suggested in my post. You can't just raise wages without having the money to do it.

That obviously suits him to stay on the spare shifts. All I'm saying is that the reason you get drivers staying working for Dublin Bus 15+ years is the incentive of getting marked in. Companies without this system tend to have a higher turnover of staff.

Hypothetically speaking forgetting the union objections if marking in was to be removed driver turnover would go through the roof.

Yeah that's likely because of how poor those shifts patterns actually are in practice. I've heard that's a big problem in GAI. Yes you know your hours well in advance but those hours are gonna be crap either way.

Well they have to do something, bus Connects and 24 hour routes will need more drivers. There's no shortage of people with D licences, there's a shortage of people willing to do a stressful job for feck all money. There's better pay and conditions packing shelves so WTF would anyone want to drive a bus responsible for 95 people or a 44t truck for a living?

The Government wants people to use public transport, the first thing they need to make it attractive to drivers so the bus companies aren't constantly cancelling buses.

I'd be interested to know what you are doing in a warehouse that pays 200 quid better than the wages I have seen on the thread for DB drivers.

You must be in a management position.

I'm in a warehouse myself driving a forklift and don't make anything like that kind of money.

Clearly ? Not everything is about money. They could pay me 60,000 a year and I wouldn’t do it…it would be the type of job that personally would bore me.

If the wage was better they need to find the money to pay for the increased expense.

the majority of that would be from their clients..

The issue is not money. I'd say most leave because its not exactly a very stimulating job. If you can drive a bus all day and put up with the riff raff, then hats off to ya. But let's be honest, it's not a highly skilled job and it doesn't take years to get a license. It definitely pays enough for what it is.

I know a DB driver and according to him, he spends as much time not driving on shift as he does driving. He likes his job and is very happy with the salary and benefits, but is first on the picket line if there is a sniff of more money/benefits. Nobody in the workforce will ever admit to be getting paid enough or too much. So I don't expect to see DB bus drivers say here that the pay is great, or even OK.

The OP is a spoof. Warehouse jobs in retail sector pay not much more than minimum wage. Doing nights and shifts brings it up, but nowhere near the money claimed in the OP.