Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Wednesday 29th September 2021

The Government has no plans to allow PSV drivers drive large goods vehicles without obtaining a Category C HGV licence. While these vehicles are similar in size, they have different characteristics.

Ensuring drivers have the right licence and skills needed to drive different types of vehicles is key to maintaining road safety. While buses and coaches are similar in size to large goods vehicles, the difference in weight and manoeuvrability means that separate driving categories, and different training requirements, are appropriate.

Furthermore, the bus and coach industry is experiencing a driver shortage and it is clear that the transport sector as a whole needs to increase the number of driving professionals. That is why the Government is supporting an increase in the number of both HGV and PSV drivers through apprenticeships.

The Passenger Transport Driver apprenticeship (https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/passenger-transport-driver---bus,-coach-and-tram-v1-1) provides options for training bus, coach and tram drivers and attracts a funding band of £6,000 and the Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeship (https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/large-goods-vehicle-(lgv)-driver-c-and-e-v1-2) trains lorry drivers up to C+E standard and is supported by a funding band of £7,000.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has already increased the number of vocational driving tests available per week to 3,000; a 50% increase in the number provided pre-COVID. Measures to streamline the driver testing process announced on 10 September will increase the capacity of vocational testing by a further 50,000 per year to help the PSV and HGV sectors get the required new drivers on the road as soon as possible.

Department for Transport