Weekly earnings for bus and coach drivers, including overtime, rose by 29.4% between 2021 and 2024, outstripping increases for other workers
Bus driver earnings exceeded that of other shift workers such as police officers
Bus and coach drivers across the UK have received a typical pay rise of nearly 30% over the last three years as the industry builds back in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Confederation for Passenger Transport.
A driver shortage, together with a recovery in passenger numbers, has pushed up pay for drivers of all types of work. The median increase in weekly earnings for bus and coach drivers, including overtime, was 29.4% between 2021 and 2024 – outstripping a typical increase of 21.6% for the overall UK population over the same period.
The increase, according to the Office for National Statistics, exceeds that of other shift workers such as police officers, whose pay has risen by 9.7%.
It beats wage growth, too, for heavy goods vehicle drivers, whose pay rose by 21% between 2021 and 2024.
Pay awards need to be affordable and sustainable
There are more than 82,000 bus drivers in the UK. Rising wages have contributed to a 17% increase in the per-kilometre cost of operating a bus over the last two years according to the CPT’s regular Cost Monitor, which analyses bus operators’ finances. Labour and engineering have been the biggest factors pushing up costs over the period.
Graham Vidler, chief executive of the CPT, commented: “Driving a bus or a coach is a vital job … Bus companies across the country value their drivers and appreciate the hard work they do in keeping Britain moving, rain or shine. But pay awards need to be affordable and sustainable in the very challenging economic environment.”
This article appears in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.
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