“Treasure not to be!”

The two leading professional associations of transport companies made their voices heard at a joint conference! The NIT and the MKFE are looking for a solution to the most pressing problem: the shortage of drivers! The shortage in the profession is estimated at 8-10 thousand!

The sector is significant! One driver generates around HUF 1.4 million in taxes for the budget every year. Without drivers, and therefore without sufficient transport, the warehousing sector’s operations will also be reduced. Toll payments are also lost, excise tax revenue on fuel is lost from the budget coffers!

The professional organisation has made the following proposal:

– It is necessary to integrate driver training into the adult education system and to provide public funding for it.

– Driver training should be integrated into the adult education system and should be funded. The inclusion in the Register of Occupations should be examined in the near future as a way of helping to improve career guidance.

– In the short term, increasing daily rates and tax-free allowances could be a means of preventing labour migration, thus levelling out wage tensions in the EU internal market.

– It is particularly important to attract back Hungarian drivers working abroad. This requires a convergence between domestic and Western European pay levels and, in line with budgetary interests, an improvement in social security and working conditions.

The government has reacted to the situation, and would solve the driver shortage by reducing the required knowledge! From 2023, the process of obtaining a bus and coach licence will be significantly simplified. Under the current rules, to obtain a category D licence, it is first necessary to obtain a category C licence (required for lorries). In addition, one examination subject will be abolished, namely the “BÜ” (Safety Inspection and Operation).

It could be a major relief for the sector, cheaper and faster for those who choose it as a profession! But we also think it is very important that driving is recognised as a PROFESSION, as it used to be!

Unfortunately, this measure will not magically change the labour shortage situation! The training, if chosen, will still take 1 year and new colleagues will enter the system with “zero mileage” and no experience. There are few, poor quality training buses available throughout the country. The appreciation, the importance of the profession should be reflected in wages!

Our government is extremely proud of the factories that foreign companies have relocated here, creating tax and job opportunities. These factories are clustered in industrial parks across the country, using passenger transport services to transport skilled workers! A review of the current driving and rest time regulations would be necessary for these specialized jobs.

It is certainly a forward-looking plan and we are hopeful!