The birth of a 19-year-old driver is also a serious shortage of bus drivers What is the clue to the solution?

Smiling at the camera was 19-year-old bus driver Yuto Fujimori.

Since the conditions for obtaining a large class 5 license to drive a route bus were relaxed in May last year, teenage drivers like Mr. Fujimori have been born.

The reason behind this is a labor shortage. Securing bus drivers is a nationwide issue, and some companies have decided to discontinue their operations.

In order to maintain routes and protect citizens' livelihoods, there is an urgent need to secure drivers at bus companies in various regions.

The first teenage bus driver in the Sapporo area

With the relaxation of the conditions for obtaining a large-scale class 2 license, until now it was a requirement to be "21 years old or older and hold an ordinary license for at least 3 years", but if you take special training, you can now obtain a large class 19 license even if you are "1 years old or older and have an ordinary license for at least 2 year".

Along with this, the first teenage bus driver in the Sapporo area was born.

My name is Yuto Fujimori, 19, who works at a bus company in Sapporo.

In May this year, I obtained a Class 5 driver's license and continue to train every day to stand on my own as a driver.

Since buses have a large body and there are many points to be aware of, such as carrying passengers, we will solve each problem one by one with the instructor.

Yuto Fujimori:
"I'm very nervous because I'm entrusted with the lives of our customers, so I don't want anything to happen, so I try to drive carefully and carefully while paying attention to various places."

This was the first day I ran alone without an instructor.

Head to Sapporo Station. We carefully inspected before driving and left the bus company nervously.

Driving during the morning commute with heavy traffic in the rain, but I run the bus calmly.

Mr. Fujimori says that it is a profession that makes it easy to feel that he is helping customers.

We will also respond politely to requests from passengers.

After about 4 hours of driving, I returned to the company safely.

Yuto Fujimori:
"After running for one day, I have gained a lot of confidence, and I feel like I can manage it from now on.

Behind the relaxation of conditions for obtaining a Class 2 large license is a serious shortage of drivers in the bus industry.

The number of bus drivers nationwide decreased by about 2,11 in just two years, from about 4000,4 in Reiwa two years to about 9,7000 in Reiwa 2.

The company has high hopes that this will be a clue to solving the labor shortage.

Hiroaki Ishiguro, Director
of the Kawaside Sales Office of Joutetsu Bus: "I would be grateful if people in their teens and twenties in general, as well as me and myself, would be inspired to take the bus."

Seven years later, there will be a shortage of 7,3 drivers, and there will be shocking data

Labor shortage even at bus companies in metropolitan areas, urgent need to secure

The shortage of bus drivers is becoming more serious nationwide, and this month the discontinuation of the "Kongo Bus" that runs in Tondabayashi City, Osaka, etc. was announced, and the number of routes and the number of buses have been reduced one after another in various places.

Under these circumstances, a bus company in Osaka City held a company information session to let people know about the working style of drivers and to lead to many hires.

The company information session was held by Nishi Japan JR Bus, which is headquartered in Osaka.

Nine people who are interested in working as a driver participated in the briefing session on the 25th, and first received an explanation from the person in charge about the bus operation route and the training system after joining the company.

Next, the participants toured the inside of the bus and experienced operations such as checking the position of mirrors and opening and closing doors from the driver's seat.

The company has about 400 drivers, but it is becoming unable to keep up with the increase in the number of route buses and the increase in demand for chartered buses, so there is an urgent need to secure drivers.

The company hopes to secure human resources by improving treatment aspects, such as bearing the cost of obtaining a bus driver's license.

Haruo Yoshimi, Manager
of JR Bus Labor and Welfare Division, Nishi Japan said, "I felt a sense of crisis about securing human resources, so I held a briefing session for the first time.