Hanau/Giessen (dpa/lhe) – According to the State Association of Hessian Bus Companies, around 800 drivers are currently missing in Hesse. “Almost 80 percent of the companies no longer have enough drivers to be able to serve customer demand and use growth impulses beyond the routes in regular and school bus services,” said the association at its general meeting on Friday in Hanau. Although bus tourism is picking up again, many companies lack drivers for additional offers.
A problem in attracting young employees is the high number of compulsory hours, which makes the training long and expensive. A driver’s license for professional drivers costs around 10,000 euros. The association called for the financial hurdles for starting a career to be lowered. In addition, driving licenses and qualifications of non-EU citizens should be recognized more quickly, for example bus drivers from Ukraine.
According to its information, around 150 private bus companies, which include around 3,000 buses and 5,000 employees, are part of the regional association of Hessian bus companies based in Gießen.
