Stagecoach West has released an update on the current situation with its drivers in Gloucestershire, and highlighted the plans it has in place to return to full services as quickly as possible.
The company has been forced to cancel services in Stroud, Dursley, Gloucester and Cheltenham following the national driver shortage.
A spokesman for the company said that over 95% of normal timetabled bus services are continuing to run.
Rachel Geliamassi, managing director for Stagecoach West, said: “We are continuing to run over 95% of our timetabled services and have firm plans in place to return to full services as quickly as possible.
“Whilst we are seeing a normal turnover in staff, as there is in all parts of the economy, issues such as Covid and Brexit have also affected our business, and this has resulted in a short-term phasing issue with the availability of bus drivers.
“We have been carrying out a recruitment drive and are pleased with the strong level of interest we have seen from people wanting to join the Stagecoach team.
"We now have a new team of drivers going through our training programme that will be getting on the road in the weeks ahead.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience.
"We are focusing resources on key services to ensure that we deliver the best service possible within current resources while we work to add the new members to our team.”
Live updates will be provided detailing any services changes at www.stagecoachbus.com
There are currently some changes to services in Cheltenham taking effect from this Sunday, due to the driver shortage issue:
1. The 94/94X/94U/N94 services will have a revised Saturday and Sunday timetable up to every 15 minutes during the peak daytime period. There will be no Service 94X operating on Saturdays or Sundays. There will be no changes to the Service 94 Monday to Friday.
2. The Service A will experience revised Monday to Friday and Saturday timetables with journeys operating up to every 15 minutes during the peak daytime period
3. The Services D/E will experience revised Monday to Friday and Saturday timetables to provide a combined frequency of up to every 15 minutes during the peak daytime period
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