The Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Taiwan said it is amending the Transportation Management Regulations to address a shortage of tour bus drivers.

Current regulations require drivers to have at least one year of experience driving passenger buses to be licensed for medium-size buses.

However, a new amendment would lower this requirement to less than one year, provided that drivers receive an additional 36 hours of training.

Ministry statistics showed that the nation lacks about 2,000 tour bus drivers, even though the line of work offers a higher monthly salary than new college graduates can expect on average.

The ministry said some bus operators have reported hiring drivers who have not driven large buses in the past three years and it is warning that hiring drivers who lack experience driving through mountainous areas could create potential danger.

 

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