The nation’s public transportation industry is facing the biggest manpower shortage in its history, with Taipei hurting the most, transportation officials said.
National Federation of Bus Passenger Transportation chairman Wang Ying-chieh (王應傑) said that, if the passenger transportation industry continues to suffer from manpower problems, it might have to ask the government to allow foreign drivers.
The ever-increasing number of Chinese tourists, coupled with the growth in domestic tourism has led to many tour bus and car rental companies hiring drivers from city or highway bus companies.
Many bus drivers are also choosing to switch to logistics firms, he added.
The problem has only worsened because young people often make the mistake of thinking that the transportation industry is painstaking, squalid and dangerous, Wang said.
This means companies often have a hard time recruiting, even if they offer starting salaries of NT$40,000 to NT$60,000 per month, Wang said.
If the problem persists, he said he would ask the government to allow foreign drivers to be employed.
The Directorate-General of Highways says highway and city buses, as well as tour bus firms, are short at least 3,650 drivers, with some companies trying to hire as many as 600 drivers at one time, offering taxi drivers monthly salaries of NT$50,000 to NT$60,000.
The agency said that, as of this month, highway and city bus companies nationwide are short 2,125 people, with 1,148 openings posted for Taipei and New Taipei City.
Tour bus operators are short 1,500 drivers nationwide, the biggest manpower shortage in the industry in history.
A bus operator said that working as a bus driver is a relatively stable job, but since bus drivers must be patient with passengers, many young people would rather work as truck drivers.
However, transportation is key to tourism, so the manpower shortage could threaten the nation’s tourism industry, the bus operator said.
Ubus general manager Pai Te-tsun (白德存) said that one problem his company faces in hiring new drivers is that the higher living expense in northern Taiwan means drivers in the center and south of the nation are reluctant to work in the north.
This is why Taipei and New Taipei City have the most serious bus driver shortage, Pai said, adding that it is hard for transport companies to raise fares to compensate for higher human resource costs.
Directorate-General of Highways Motor Vehicles Division Deputy Chief Liang Kuo-kuo (梁郭國) said the agency recognizes the seriousness of the issue, and launched a program at the beginning of this month to allow those who have worked as cab drivers for two years to take lessons to become bus drivers.
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