Can you honestly say you know your drivers are paid the right amount each month?

It’s a simple question, but surprisingly difficult to answer. To illustrate: we recently met a prospective customer who revealed that they have no way of interrogating their driver payments.

The depot manager we spoke with could use their present system to see the total amount the driver was to be paid, but there was no means of drilling into this figure to understand what made up the total, or whether it was actually the right figure. The manager felt sure they were overpaying, but lacked the tools to identify how, or to solve the issue.

Driver payment is a hugely complex task, especially when you consider the proliferation of individual driver terms and conditions, and TUPE regulations. It has become so complex that the challenge of getting it right is often ignored, with inefficiencies accepted as an inevitable by-product of delivering bus services.

But as bus operations strive to become ever more efficient, this issue is becoming impossible to ignore.

Fortunately, with the correct technology, staff and training, it is actually entirely possible to ensure drivers are paid the drivers the right amount. We have worked with a number of operators who have successfully addressed this issue – and in doing so they have significantly reduced overall operating costs.

Our resident Duty Allocation technology consultant Pete Adney explores this issue in a detailed article which outlines the tell-tale signs of driver overpayment, and identifies best practice to address the cause. Read it here.