E&I ‘dropped the ball’ on bus driver shortages
ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE ‘dropped the ball’ when it came to managing a shortage of bus drivers, the deputy who raised the issue in the States has claimed.
Up to 60 services per day have been cancelled in recent weeks due to recruitment and retention issues with bus operator CT Plus.
Deputy David De Lisle asked E&I president Lindsay de Sausmarez why other businesses had suffered the same issues but had been able to continue providing a full service.
‘It seems E&I have been caught on the hop and realised they have neglected their key responsibilities,’ he said.
In last month’s States meeting, he asked what compensation would be made to the States considering the number of service cancellations made over the last two years.
‘[Deputy de Sausmarez] came back with a blanket answer that they were going to recoup the money but gave no indication of how much, and no details of compensation over the two-year period.’
The E&I president said it was difficult at this point to pin down exact figures due to the confidential nature of the States’ contract with CT Plus.
But Deputy De Lisle asked that she return to the States with full details of what, if any, compensation was to be made.
‘The problem with E&I is they didn’t keep their eye on the ball, and concentrate on key responsibilities,’ he said.
The committee had previously confirmed that the bus company was in breach of its contract with the States over the many cancellations made every day, but said it did not intend to take any action against the company in the particular circumstances. Instead the committee is working with CT Plus to try to help improve recruitment.
