Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of trends in the levels of bus and coach driver vacancies.

The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) estimated that almost 1 in 10 bus driver positions in the UK were vacant in September 2022. However, intelligence from the sector suggests that the shortfall has reduced significantly in recent months.

In November 2022, the Department and CPT co-chaired a Bus and Coach Driver Summit to understand and address the issues causing driver shortages. Following the Bus and Coach Driver Summit, the Department has been working with CPT to take forward the actions identified at the summit.