'Emergency timetable' announced as operators blame "perfect storm" of driver shortages

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Bus services across Stirling are being cut back to an emergency timetable as the service operators blame a “perfect storm” of staffing pressures.The move, which was announced on Friday and came into effect on Monday, will see most services reduced to a ‘Sunday service’ with additional early morning services put in place as an attempt to mitigate pressure on commuters.Operators First Bus had already faced criticism for cutting local services due to a driver shortage which it blamed on Covid and an absence of EU drivers due to the impact of Brexit.However, the recent emergence of the Omicron variant has led to existing drivers being forced to self-isolate - with the company forced to trim their offering of services once again to keep up with the latest staff shortages.In a statement, a First Bus spokesman said: “As you will be aware, we’ve already been attempting to mitigate the effects of an acute driver shortage that the business has been experiencing in recent times.“However, the current spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has been rapid and we’re continuing to see an increasing volume of drivers needing to self-isolate in line with Scottish Government guidelines.“This situation coupled with our ongoing driver establishment issue has created a perfect storm in the form of a shortfall in the number of drivers that we need to operate our network reliably.“With this in mind, and with a view to making sure that we’re able to maintain a level of service that our customers can use with some certainty, we’re introducing a package of emergency timetables with effect from Monday [January 10] that we will be able to deliver with the reduced driver capacity currently available to us.”The spokesman also pointed out that the