Australia bus company desperate for workers as job interest slumps

It's a difficult time for people in Sydney who rely on catching the bus, as a major shortage of bus drivers causes delays and cancelled schedules across the city.

New South Wales government transport and road agency, Transport for NSW,  is recruiting 370 bus drivers across Sydney and a further 10 regional areas, with some job adverts even offering a bonus of up to $6000 just to start work.

However, for some reason, no one in Australia is interested in the job, despite the pay.

While salaries are advertised as sitting between $70,000 and $90,000, they can go higher with overtime work and allowance for driving double-decker or double-carriage buses.

Workers get perks, such as being offered free travel on all public transport, worth up to $3000 per year.

A recruitment campaign has attracted 144 new drivers since going up in April, but according to the Daily Mail, it's still not moving fast enough to meet the shortage of drivers.

The low number of staff has led to daily cancelled services and angry passengers.

"New South Wales is dealing with an unprecedented bus driver shortage," a Transport for NSW spokesperson admitted to Daily Mail.

Many drivers are feeling stressed by pay issues, gruelling work hours and fears over their security from demanding and argumentative passengers.

According to Daily Mail, the lack of safety for bus drivers and the long list of responsibilities scares off many people who are initially interested in applying. 

The mandatory Driver Authority training includes issues such as "dealing with aggressive passengers, safe driving, needs of passengers with disabilities, emergency response, fatigue management, crash procedures, rock throwing, defensive driving and fire prevention".