Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the news story, “New proposals just the ticket for getting young people into transport”, of 11 April 2024, what consideration has been made since July 2024 of lower age limits and removing restrictions for younger drivers in the coach industry and to address skill shortages.

The Government is committed to working with the bus and coach sectors to support them in being able to meet both their current and future labour requirements.

In April 2024, under the previous government, the Department launched a consultation to help support driver recruitment. This included a measure to amend licensing restrictions which would enable 18 to 19-year-olds to drive a bus and coach over 50km when driving a regular service, with the aim of increasing the number of available drivers, particularly for longer, more rural routes.  The limited scope of this consultation meant we were unable to assess the impact of removing restrictions without further evidence.

The Department has been engaging with the bus and coach industry, alongside road safety groups, to understand potential impacts of amending both route restrictions for 18 and 19 year olds. We are considering the evidence carefully and will set out our next steps in due course.