The driver shortages we are experiencing at the moment are not just applicable to the haulage industry, bus companies are also facing driver shortages. If you ask drivers or operators what the problems are operators will tell you the artificial, unnecessary, costs of the CPC qualification, wasting valuable driver hours on subjects they have already been taught when they took their driving test.  It is a stealth tax on drivers and operators with no benefits.

Operators see it as expensive, unnecessary, red tape, that severely restricts the growth of their business sapping financial resources that could be put to better use increasing wages, working conditions, and investment in vehicles and other equipment.

Ask a driver why they are leaving the transport industry and they will list the CPC as one of the major reasons. In the case of buses, when a driver is at retirement age they have to attend frequent, strict, medical examinations. In addition to this, the companies also assess their driving abilities to ensure they are safe to continue in the profession.

Most drivers who are past the retirement age, work part time for small operators on school contracts. The question you must  ask yourself is...... would you spend hundreds or thousands of pounds on an unnecessary course that has to be retaken every 5 years with the same expense, to work part time getting a wage between £5 to £8 per hour?

You have already attended professional driver training obtain a  licence to drive a bus or lorry in which you have to undergo hours of practical, intensive training experience, before then taking a stringent test that many fail on the first attempt.

The CPC is a superfluous, expensive, unnecessary millstone around the transport industries neck, it needs totally abolishing in Britain, to allow our transport industry to flourish and provide the quality of service we all expect.

Please help us rebuild Britain by abolishing this awful  EU tax and lay a foundation stone for great opportunities and success in the future.

Thank you.