The commercial road sector is trying to find drivers across Europe, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult. This week, they asked the European Parliament for solutions.
Truck, bus and coach companies have been investing in new electric vehicles across Europe to meet new emissions reduction targets for the European Union. But they’re encountering a problem: they’re not able to find drivers for these smooth new rides.
“I have two trucks idle at the moment because I’m unable to get drivers,” Paul Jackman, a truck company operator and member of the Irish Rod Haulage Association, told MEPs at an event in the European Parliament on 15 October.
The event was organised by the Brussels-based International Road Transport Union, which has highlighted the staffing issue impacting its members as one of the three pillars of the manifesto it has issued for the new parliamentary term. “Our industry is confronted by a major driver shortage,” IRU President Radu Dinescu told the MEPs. “At first, it was acute, now it’s chronic. We’re missing more than 500,000 professional drivers across Europe.”
There are several causes for the staffing crisis, ranging from age restrictions to immigration blocks to a lack of driver’s license compatibility. There are currently 2.7 million professional drivers in the EU, which is 500,000 less than the amount needed. According to a 2023 IRU report, this driver shortage is forecast to grow by 17% over the next five years without action.
Difficulty attracting drivers
One solution would be to bring in more drivers from third countries. However, immigration restrictions and lack of recognition for foreign licenses and training are making this difficult.
“Third-country drivers have to be brought in,” said Jackman. Changes need to be made to harmonise licenses and Drivers Certificates of Professional Competence (CPCs), he said. “As it is, CPC is not doing the industry any favours,” he said, adding that an upcoming review next year could improve things.
“The EU license directive is the light at the end of the tunnel. There should be an EU license, even if it’s issued by Polish or Irish authorities, a single EU license would give greater gravitas and appeal for third country drivers.” Someone immigrating to the EU may find professional driving more appealing if they know that the license that they obtain in France will also be valid everywhere in the union.
Luc Peeters, a professional driver who also trains other drivers in the Netherlands, agreed. “The CPC is old nowadays, we need to start acting more practical and less theoretical,” he said.
Lower age limits
Another thing causing the shortage is continued age limits, which the industry says are too high. “In Sweden, we have an age limit of 24 – we need to lower that,” Anna Grönlund from the Swedish Bus and Coach Federation told the MEPs. “One-third of bus and coach drivers in Sweden are over 60.”
Across Europe, only 2.7% of bus drivers and 5% of truck drivers are under 25 years old. A third of professional drivers are 55 or older. The average driver age for trucks is 47, and for buses, it is 50. The sector has also struggled to attract immigrant labour, with non-EU nationals accounting for just 5% of bus drivers and 9% of truck drivers, according to IRU’s 2023 report.
The driver shortage and average older age is a trend across Europe, but there is one exception: the Netherlands.
Vocational training
Elisabeth Post, President of Transport en Logistiek Nederland, told the MEPs that the key to the success of the Netherlands has been training.
“A big difference is that we have a comprehensive vocational system,” she said. “Young people can choose it at the age of 15 to learn the tricks of the trade. And then they start with a certificate. When you catch young people early, it’s better. If you make them wait till 24 or 26 to drive a truck, then you lose them.
Italian MEP Elena Donazzan, vice-chair of the parliament’s industry committee, said legislative changes could help the situation. “Training is the backbone of a skilled job like road transport,” she said. “We should improve the corresponding legislation. In Europe, truck driver training programs are out of date.” She said one solution would be for the EU to make driver’s license agreements with third countries like Italy did.
German MEP Jan-Christoph Oetjen told the drivers that lowering the age as part of a revision of the driving license directive, which will be subject to upcoming trilogue negotiations with member states, is a main priority for the Parliament. “The idea is to lower ages to make it more attractive to young people,” he said. We’re also looking at the CPC. These are concrete examples of where we can harmonise procedures in the EU.”
Safe resting spaces
Vincenzo Loria from the Italian haulage company Torello told the MEPs that another problem in attracting people to the sector is the lack of safe and secure parking spaces across Europe.
“How attractive does the job sound when, after hours on the road, you can’t even find a safe spot to rest?” he asked. “I surveyed our drivers, and 80% of them said they can’t find safe parking. They can find places to park, but they’re not necessarily safe and secure. The priority should be common standards across the EU – a driver shouldn’t have to worry about lower standards just because they crossed into another country.”
Cleaner vehicles
The other two pillars of the IRU’s manifesto are the environment and the free movement of people and goods. The industry has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050 and is highlighting itself as part of the shift from private to collective mobility.
Bus, coach and taxi services should be financially supported and promoted by policymakers, they say, as part of efforts to reduce individual car journeys. Already, the market for clean vehicles is developing rapidly. There was a 39% increase in new electric bus registrations and a 234% increase in new electric truck registrations in 2023.
But IRU members also spoke of concerns about some environmental regulations, such as navigating the patchwork of different city access restrictions across the EU – which can differ even within member states.
Michael Nielsen, CEO of the coach company Dansk PersonTransport, told the event that this is a problem they encounter not just as their coaches stop in different cities, bringing Danes down to Southern Europe and passing through multiple countries, but also when picking passengers up in different cities within Denmark. “The city access restrictions are sprouting up like mushrooms,” he said.
Czech MEP Ondrej Krutilek said that while the parliament could look at possible EU-wide solutions to this issue, a more practical remedy could come from the private sector. He said developers should look into making an app that would tell drivers about the various city access restrictions on their journey and what they need to do to prepare – perhaps with a one-stop-shop for paying for and demonstrating compliance.
For his part, MEP Oetjen said that in the coming term, the parliament will be looking to turn the page from the major focus on environment and climate legislation in the previous term as part of the Green Deal. “We discussed the Green Deal a lot in the last mandate, but I think the people issue was neglected in our discussions,” he said, saying that the skills shortage question will receive attention in the coming term.
[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]
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Publish date : 2024-10-18 13:15:00
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