Local bus operator, East Yorkshire, has announced that it will be making some temporary changes to some of its services from Sunday 23 October in the face of recruitment struggles across the bus sector.
The news comes as many bus operators face pro-longed recruitment issues, including other local operators, as caused by a variety of factors. Ben Gilligan, East Yorkshire’s Managing Director, said: “Like many bus companies across the UK, we are seeing a challenging recruitment market on the back of record low employment and high vacancy rates. We are working hard to address this, but to provide a more predictable service for our customers, we need to make some temporary changes to our timetables.”
Those travelling on the Services 54, 56, 57, 66, 104, 105 and 154 will be seeing changes to their current timetables to help services run more reliably whilst the company focuses on pushing driver recruitment. A summary of the changes is listed below:
- Service 54 – Monday to Saturday, journeys will run to a revised timetable of up to every 30 minutes, with no changes to the evening frequency.
- Service 56 & 57 – Buses will run to a revised timetable of up to every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime, providing a combined 15-minute frequency to and from Longhill/ASDA. On Sundays, buses will run up to every hour during the day, providing a combined 30-minute frequency to and from Longhill/ASDA. Revised evening timetables will also be in place.
- Service 66 – Buses will run up to every 20 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytime, with minor changes to early morning and evening journeys. On Sundays, buses will run every hour.
- Service 104 – Buses will run to a revised timetable of up to every 30 minutes Monday through to Saturday, with minor changes to early morning and evening journeys.
- Service 105 – Sunday buses will run every hour during daytime.
- Service 154 – Buses will run to a revised timetable of up to every 30 minutes from Monday to Saturday daytime, with minor changes to early morning and early evening journeys.
Ben Gilligan continued: “We are sorry for the recent disruption that our customers have faced, and appreciate their patience with our hard working front line staff who have had a difficult time in recent weeks.”
The new timetables are available to view online on the East Yorkshire Buses website (eastyorkshirebuses.co.uk), and on the East Yorkshire Buses app. Those who cannot access the internet can get the new times by contacting BusLine on 01482 59 29 29 or by email at busline@eastyorkshirebuses.co.uk (open Monday to Saturday, 8am ‘til 6pm), or by visiting our Travel Centre desk in Hull Paragon Interchange (open Monday to Saturday 8am – 6pm).
Those looking to join East Yorkshire’s team of bus drivers can do so by visiting eastyorkshirebuses.co.uk/jobs or by speaking to our recruitment team by emailing laura.kendrew@eastyorkshirebuses.co.uk.