Aging problem

Shengfa, which runs routes in Hongkou, Yangpu and Putuo districts, would not say whether it was making a profit but said there could be a problem in the future as its drivers aged and couldn't be easily replaced. Shangfu, which runs routes in Hongkou and Yangpu districts, on the other hand, said its Route 854 was making money because it traveled past neighborhoods, schools and hospitals.

Most of the other bus company routes are confined to the outskirts of the city including the Fengxian Bus Transport Company which was founded in 2001 and runs four of its five routes within the Fengxian area, and the Jingshen Company, which has four routes in Qingpu district. There has been a good deal of Internet criticism of the companies for long delays between buses and rude staff. Company insiders told the Global Times that there were not enough drivers either. "The existing staff are stretched to their limits to keep the businesses going," one said.

The driver shortage is not just restricted to the private bus companies. Miss Xu is an employee with the State-owned Shanghai Songjiang Public Transportation Company and she told the Global Times that they too have a big shortage of drivers. She said most of the current drivers were already aged over 50 and it was very difficult to recruit younger drivers.

The shortage is having an effect on a number of the company's routes - like Songjiang Route 40, which is a circular route that starts and ends in Jiuting Metro Station, now sets out once an hour. Most of its passengers have just walked out of the metro and need the bus to take them the last few kilometers home.

Many of the passengers getting on this bus complain to the driver and conductor about the delays. Making it worse is that the drivers won't start the engine until the bus is crammed with passengers and there is not even standing room left.

Training schemes

The Shanghai Songjiang Public Transportation Company is trying to solve the staffing problem. "The company has schemes to train young drivers. But often the people we train don't go on to work for us but join long-distance coach companies. Bus driving is a very wearing job and we pay less than the average rate for State-owned bus companies in Shanghai," said Xu.

It's costly and takes a lot of time to gain a license to drive a bus. According to eastday.com, an applicant has to have an A1 or A3 license to drive a bus. It is a slow process taking a driver three years to move from a C1 license to a B1 license and then another five years to reach an A1 level. This will set an applicant back more than 10,000 yuan.

The government is now offering support. The Pudong New Area district government now offers trainee drivers in the Pudong Yanggao Bus, a State-owned bus company, a 5,000 yuan grant and a monthly allowance of 200 yuan for six months.

Government supports the bus companies in other ways offering subsidies for fuel and new vehicles purchases.