Lack of drivers is slamming the brakes on our family coach firm as wages soar

A lack of drivers is proving ‘catastrophic’ for coach operators across the country, according to one family-run business.

Candice Mason, who runs Hertfordshire-based Mason Coaches, said the firm has been forced to jack up wages by a fifth to bolster their workforce.

But this has not been a silver bullet and staff are instead choosing to take on fewer hours.

‘As an operator, there are simply not enough bodies to staff the number of jobs,’ Mason told the Mail. ‘What we found is as we increased wages to try and attract more workers, it actually allowed people to cut back on the hours they were doing.’

The situation highlights the problems facing businesses across the country as they struggle to fill 1.02m vacancies – with many pushing up pay to attract talent.

Staff shortages: Candice Mason (pictured), who runs Hertfordshire-based Mason Coaches, said the firm has been forced to jack up wages by a fifth to bolster their workforce

Average wages in the UK are rising at a record rate of 7.8 per cent – fuelling inflation fears.

But Mason said changing mindsets in the wake of the pandemic meant more people are demanding a better work-life balance – with some cutting their hours.

On average, Mason Coaches drivers work around 45 hours a week, down from the 56 hours they were clocking up before Covid struck. 

And while the company had initially hoped business would take six years to return to pre-pandemic levels, it is now looking like more than a decade. 

The 30-year-old company has been pushed to sell two coaches so far this year and turn down much-needed work during the peak summer seasons.

Founded in 1988 by George and Pam Mason, the business has evolved from ferrying school children to running a fleet of 20 coaches across the country.

Candice married into the family firm and has helped run the business for ten years alongside her husband James Mason.

‘It is just dire,’ she told BBC Radio 4. ‘It is not just me, it is every operator I speak to. We just cannot recruit and staff our companies properly.’ 

A spokesman from the Confederation of Passenger Transport, the trade association for the UK coach and bus sector, said: ‘With coach operators reporting full order books for inter-city travel, holiday breaks, concerts, sports and school trips, the driver shortage is holding the sector back from meeting the high passenger demand for long-distance travel.’

Since the pandemic, firms across the country have struggled to get staff behind the wheel as interest in the profession dwindles and experienced drivers opt for retirement.

And whilst the shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers made headlines last year, there is a 12.5 per cent national coach driver shortage, figures suggest.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk