Wheels On Fire – Can Bob the Bus Survive?
Our wonderful yellow – award winning – mini buses are a Godsend for Totnes.
But there’s a looming threat – described by the Community Transport Association as a cliff edge – which could take buses like Bob off the road all over the country. It sounds like The Italian Job – the coach dangling over the precipice while the bars of gold slip ever further away – but it’s much more mundane. It’s all to do with current driver licensing rules.
The Bob volunteers are always trying to find new drivers – they attended the volunteer fair at the Jobcentre this week (as did the Pulse and other local groups) – but at present only drivers of a certain age – who passed their test before 1997 – are allowed to. This is because oldies have the valued D1 minibus part of the licence, which was taken away at that time, meaning younger drivers don’t have the minibus part automatically.
Steve and Chris, who both drive Bob, pointed out that the other problem is the D1 status is automatically taken away from drivers once they reach 70 – unless you specifically ask to retain it.
Without it, buses weighing more than 3.5 tonnes laden – which means with passengers – are off-limits to drivers. And while there are some buses which are lighter, they aren’t suitable for the Totnes routes.
The CTA is well aware of the D1 problem and has been lobbying Government for several years.
It says: In the next five years, more than 2.9 million D1 licences are likely to be lost by drivers turning 70, which is 21% of all D1 licences. D1 entitlement will continue to reduce in each of the following years, severely reducing the pool of potential employees and volunteers available to drive minibuses.
We need the UK Government to act now to avoid this dangerous cliff-edge and safeguard the long-term future of Community Transport. Without change, many Community Transport services and operators will be at risk of reduction, withdrawal or closure.
The alternative to a D1 (101) licence is a full D1 licence. This requires a separate driving test, which has not been designed for Community Transport, and completing a medical assessment. This process is costly and time-consuming, not least due to significant delays caused by a lack of assessment capacity. For many individuals and operators, this is unaffordable and unrealistic. As a result, the D1 requirement has become a major barrier to recruiting and retaining minibus drivers, whether paid employees or unpaid volunteers, particularly among younger and more diverse demographics.
Without action to widen the pool of potential drivers, many operators will struggle to deliver essential services, leaving thousands of passengers without the accessible, affordable and reliable transport they need to access amenities, education, employment, health & social care and social connections.
The CTA has come up with solutions to the problem and this summer has begun a push to get the message across to Government.
If you want to find out more, go to www.ctauk.org
And if you do hold one of those precious licences and can spare some time to drive – or if you want to get involved with Bob the Bus in other ways like cleaning, maintenance and fund raising,
then email bobthebushire@yahoo.com or ring 07800745332.
Let’s keep the wheels turning!