Mr. David Conway:

On behalf of the members of the CTTC, I thank the Chair and the committee for inviting us to present here today and for providing us with an opportunity to discuss the serious issues affecting commercial bus operators in Ireland today. By way of introduction, I am a member of the executive council of the CTTC and regional manager of Citylink.

I am joined by my CTTC executive council colleague, Mr. Brendan Crowley of Wexford Bus, and Mr. Brian Lynch of Suirway in County Waterford.

The Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland is the country’s largest representative body for commercial bus operators. We are a proactive organisation focused on delivering the most efficient and sustainable transport connectivity in Ireland. As a sector we support more than 11,000 jobs across every constituency and region in Ireland and our activities have sustained businesses that would otherwise have very limited employment opportunities. However, in the face of rising costs owing to inflation, severe driver shortages and persistent issues with licensing and the recruitment of new, younger drivers, our sector is facing a number of unprecedented challenges. Key to rectifying these issues is meaningful engagement between all transport stakeholders. For this reason, we are grateful to the committee for the invitation to appear before it today.

Since March of this year, when inflation began to steadily rise before peaking at 9.1% in July, many transport providers have recorded increases in the cost of fuel, repairs, parts and general maintenance works. An internal industry survey carried out earlier in the year found that nearly two thirds of commercial bus operators had reported increases in fuel costs of more than 50% in the previous months. Fuel is a mission-critical expense for the industry and one for which we cannot seek a reduction in cost without direct intervention or the influence of external market factors. This is particularly pertinent in the case of school transport where service provision must remain consistent even in the face of volatile and unpredictable fuel costs.

Inflationary pressures have not been confined to fuel. Many CTTC members are paying higher insurance premiums while encountering rising costs for vehicle parts and paying increased interest on vehicle loans. While no sector is immune to these challenges, the provision of transport is a low-margin activity at the best of times, so increased operational and fuel costs have been uniquely challenging. Equally, we acknowledge the Government’s decision in budget 2023 to extend the existing excise reductions on petrol and diesel until the end of February and to allocate crucial funding to strategic public transport projects. It is vital, however, should fuel prices remain at their current levels or increase even further owing to inflation, that consideration be given to the need to include fuel variation clauses in all State contracts. This is an issue for which our members have strongly advocated and we are keen to discuss further with committee members.

The current process for the issuing of licences to operate routes is best described as arduous owing to the considerable length of time between submission of the initial application and the eventual granting of the licence by the National Transport Authority, NTA. This is a long drawn-out process that is sometimes initiated at short notice to meet evolving consumer demand. It requires approval to be sought to use bus stops along a route, which may cover a number of local authority areas, meaning that approval must be sought from each. This creates significant additional administrative work for commercial bus operators applying to service these routes. It is with regret that I note that the current process fails to adequately serve the needs of the public. By comparison, the same process in the UK is significantly less cumbersome and leads to enhanced service provision as and when required, often within a very short timeframe.

It is now the case that when minor adjustments are needed to cater for changing customer demand or to ensure efficient delivery of service, the resulting administrative delays in the implementation of such improvements act as an impediment to the modal shift away from private cars. It is our understanding that the NTA has communicated that all services licensed by it must be fully operational by 7 November or risk being cancelled. This requires commercial bus operators to begin the application process again. We firmly believe that the existing process must be urgently reviewed and unnecessary and burdensome bureaucracy removed.

There has been much discussion of the war for talent in recent times. An ongoing skills shortage combined with competition from other transport providers such as the logistics industry has resulted in a crisis in recruitment and retention of drivers, particularly younger drivers. At present, commercial bus operators aim to employ only fully qualified drivers who meet the highest possible standards of competency and have obtained their full public service vehicle driving licence. However, the industry faces considerable barriers to continued growth and sustained service provision in respect of the older age profile of our drivers. This owes more to the excessive costs of licence qualification, which is now in the region of €2,500. This excessive financial burden is regrettably acting as a deterrent to those seeking employment in the commercial bus sector.

CTTC members are determined to safeguard continuity of service in the years ahead, while emphasising the need to ensure that all drivers strictly abide by the training requirements expected of them. In this context, we are keen to work with transport stakeholders to explore the feasibility of introducing an innovative driver training programme in which new recruits could receive fully funded driver training in exchange for completing a set number of years’ service with a commercial bus company. This would allow young drivers to acquire a public service vehicle, PSV, licence while learning from experienced colleagues and without incurring the significant financial cost normally associated with obtaining a licence.

The crisis in driver recruitment poses a threat to the viability of some services. We are keen to mitigate this. Earlier this year, despite the easing of Covid-19 public health restrictions and the resumption of international travel, a number of our members were still faced with the prospect of reducing their services owing to a lack of available drivers. As a sector which facilitates more than 75 million passenger journeys annually, boosting regional economies and providing school transport to students across every constituency in the country, this issue must be addressed as a priority. As an accompaniment to the measure I outlined, the CTTC believes that simplifying and streamlining the process for issuing work permits to non-EU drivers could open a pathway to employment for those who hold a category D equivalent licence, which pertains to heavy goods vehicle, HGV, and bus and coach drivers. While there was considerable support for Government’s decision to allow those holding a Ukrainian driving licence to exchange this for an Irish correspondent earlier this year, this was only the case for category B licenceholders, which covers passenger cars only. The deployment of additional staff to the relevant divisions and the opening of a specific pathway for non-EU drivers who hold category D equivalent licences could prove a useful tool in easing driver shortages, while providing valuable employment opportunities for those who live and are seeking to work in Ireland. Given the strategic service our members provide, it is imperative that there is a loosening of the applicable rules on eligibility in order to plug the acute skills need in our sector so that we can continue, with confidence, to ensure essential connectivity to passengers throughout the country.

I stress that as an industry, we are committed to adopting sustainable practices. CTTC members possess some of the most environmentally compatible fleets currently available on the market. We remain determined to build on this progress. Now is the opportune time for the Government to begin working in a meaningful collaboration with the private bus and coach sector to ensure the target of 50% carbon emission reductions in transport by 2030 is achieved. Commuters will flock to public transport if they feel the passenger experience surpasses that of using a private vehicle. Fair fares act as a huge incentive in this regard. Introducing park-and-ride facilities, enhancing our network of quality bus corridors and improving the overall efficiency of existing vehicles will help to lessen average journey times and ease traffic pressures, while significantly reducing carbon output. A single coach has the potential to take 40 cars off the road and even a 10% reduction in peak car usage would cut urban CO2 emissions by 14,500 tonnes per annum.

As a country, we should be deploying every available incentive and strategy to encourage a modal shift away from private vehicles and towards public transport. The CTTC and our members are determined to play our part in ensuring we have an efficient, fit-for-purpose and affordable public transport system for future generations. We can be relied on as trusted advisers to bring consumer behaviour trends, insights and advice to resolve the biggest challenges confronting the sector.

While our sector faces a number of profound challenges, our utmost priority is to continue working in meaningful collaboration with all areas of the transport sector to work towards our collective ambition of having a reliable, sustainable, well-serviced national transport network.