Grant PSV holders automatic Class 2 entitlement for free

As a psv driver, you are driving vehicles that are longer than a class 2 lorry. And buses can weigh a lot more than a lorry as well. With a bus you are carrying precious cargo (passengers) so why can you not allow a psv licence holder to be allowed an automatic right to a class 2 licence.

There is a huge shortage of hgv drivers within the UK. So surely by allowing a psv licence holder the right to a class 2 lorry licence, without the need of a further driving exam would make a lot of sense.

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