There is a shortage of around 1,000 bus and trolleybus drivers across Lithuania. With few new drivers entering the labour force, the problem is expected to get worse.
“This is a shortage of public transport drivers everywhere – in all companies, in all regions, in all municipalities,” Gintaras Nakutis, head of the Passenger Transport Association, said.
In Vilnius alone, around 20 routes are being adjusted every day due to the shortage of drivers.
“For example, if a bus runs every 4-5 minutes, we adjust that route to run every 6-7 minutes,” said Giedre Buivydaite, a representative of Vilnius Public Transport, adding that less frequent routes were usually not affected by such adjustments.
In Kaunas, there is a shortage of over fifty drivers, but the routes have not been affected yet, according to the city’s public transport company Kauno Autobusai (Kaunas’ Buses).
“So far in Kaunas, we are balancing on the fence. We are negotiating with people about overtime and responding to the problem in every possible way,” said Mindaugas Grigelis, head of Kauno Autobusai.
The lack of drivers is also preventing the long-distance transport companies from reintroducing some of the routes cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We cannot fully open international routes – to Tallinn, Riga. We can also only take a few orders, and there are so many of those who want to rent buses – institutions, organizations and travel agencies. We have to turn them down,” said Arunas Indrasius, head of transport company TOKS.
If nothing changes, the problem will only get worse in the future, according to the Passenger Transport Association. This is because current drivers are getting older, but the number of those obtaining the right to drive category D vehicles is decreasing every year.
Between 2010 and 2019, up to 1,000 new bus drivers were trained in Lithuania every year, but this number had almost halved in recent years.
“Young people might choose to drive a bus when they finish secondary school, but they can only start driving a bus when they turn 21. After finishing school, they either study or find another job,” Indrasius said.
No vocational schools or colleges in Lithuania train bus drivers, Nakutis added.
According to Regitra data, 77% of all those who have the right to drive buses and trolleybuses in Lithuania are in their fifties or older. (LRT/Business World Magazine)