New generation reluctant to be drivers; serious shortage in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: Shortage of drivers is troubling the transport sector in Andhra Pradesh as the new generation is showing a reluctance to take up driving while others in the state are also not interested.

The Corona crisis had a huge impact on truck/lorry drivers and cleaners as many of them fell ill due to the pandemic and they are no more willing to continue in the job due to post-Covid issues.

There were nearly 3 lakh trucks/lorries in 13 districts of AP, but nearly 30-40 per cent vehicles were facing problems about returning to the roads due to shortage of drivers. Adverse working conditions like lack of regular sleep, erratic lifestyle, road accidents, insecurity in the job and socioeconomic conditions are discouraging the driver community to remain in the profession.

According to reports, faced with this problem, truck operators are gradually reducing the number of vehicles and trying to stop transport operations. Some big players in the transport field are maintaining their operations and offering good salary and other facilities to drivers to keep them satisfied.

Transport operators say every truck would have a driver and assistant called cleaner. The cleaner gradually learns driving skills and becomes a licensed driver after passing a test. Problem now is that the new generations are not interested in working as cleaners. This is forcing many vehicles to ply without cleaners and this is a reason why there is a shortage of new drivers.

A senior driver, D Satyam, said a majority of the drivers earn Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. Their living conditions are abysmal with meagre wages, lack of social security, fatigue due to long driving hours, backaches, joint/muscle pain and gastrointestinal ailments due to the “road life” they lead.

He said that barring big transport companies, no transporter provides provident funds, health security, pension, gratuity and regular wages. Most drivers do not recommend their children into the driving profession.

Another driver G Krishna said that earlier the people with low education used to adopt driving as a profession, but the scenario changed now. A majority of the youths are getting education up to degree level, which helps them get jobs in various sectors. The increase in literacy rate has also caused a big hurdle in producing new drivers. Hence, he said, the government should draw a good policy to attract the new generations towards the driving profession.

Truck operator N Govindaraju said trucks, mini lorries and other vehicles are easily available on zero per cent finance or for a down payment of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000. But drivers are still unavailable. Drivers are also becoming truck owners by purchasing trucks/lorries through vehicle finance on EMIs and they are earning good income by driving their own vehicles. This is also a reason for the decrease in the number of drivers.

President of AP lorry owners association Eswara Rao urged the government to initiate proactive measures and attract the present generations towards the driving profession if only to save the lorry/truck sector from its present plight.