Limburg will let Arriva hire bus drivers who do not speak Dutch

The province of Limburg wants to give Arriva permission to put Croatian drivers who do not speak the Dutch language behind the wheel of regional buses. Although the province has a requirement that every bus driver "understands and speaks the Dutch language," the public transport company will probably be allowed to temporarily deviate from this policy.

The regional transport company has been struggling with a shortage of personnel, resulting in bus cancellations. To cope with this, Arriva wants to run a pilot project where it hires three or four drivers from Croatia to work on bus routes in Venlo and the surrounding area.

Although these drivers speak English, they do not speak Dutch, as the province included in its schedule of requirements for transport proposals. That states that all staff who have contact with passengers must be able to speak and understand Dutch. They must also understand English and German, and preferably be able to speak those languages.

"The province of Limburg intends to agree to this proposed temporary solution," said a spokesperson for Jasper Kuntzelaers, the deputy in charge of public transport on the province's Executive Board. He pointed to the "long-standing challenges for Arriva to attract sufficient staff" and the consequences of understaffing. "The province of Limburg believes it is important that passengers are faced with as few journey cancellations as possible."

If Limburg actually agrees to the pilot, it will make a condition that the drivers in question take part in a Dutch course. The same collective labor agreements must also apply to them as to Arriva's regular drivers.

The transport company said that the Croatian drivers will receive "a good orientation" so that they can be deployed quickly and in a positive manner. "In the meantime, we are continuing to work tirelessly to train and recruit new colleagues, with the aim of connecting them to Arriva with permanent employment," said a spokesperson for the company.

"The fact is that we simply don't have enough people to be able to offer a reliable timetable," she said. More than 50 people are currently training to become bus drivers at the regional transport company. Arriva expects that they will have the necessary driving license in three months.