The Shortage Of Qualified Drivers Threatens The Transport Industry.

The shortage of qualified drivers threatens the intermodal industry's continued growth in Bangladesh. The challenge for intermodal transport is not only hiring enough professional drivers, but also retaining them. For many transportation service provider, attracting and retaining drivers are the biggest challenges.

                                                                          The extreme number of multi-hour delays along the intermodal chain, combined with the impersonal treatment drivers receive at some facilities, make intermodal undesirable for drivers. This problem occurs as a part of a countrywide drive against unfit vehicles and drivers without licenses.The minister said the exercise would continue until traffic accident and mishaps dropped to tolerable limits.as a result of action, Illegal backdoor channels have become a popular choice for people without driving skills to skip the required tests and acquire driving licenses for additional fees.

Brokers, usually posing as internal officers of the BRTA, constantly lurk around the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) office in the capital’s Mirpur 13 area, looking for license-seekers who might be willing to pay some extra cash to skip the lengthy official processes. These unnecessary delays discourage drivers and throw into confusion. The nation will need to add 50,000 drivers per year for the next 10 years, according to Bangladesh Intercity Trucking Associations estimates. And only one-third of the demand for drivers stems from business growth; two-thirds of the need comes from retirements and exiting drivers.

There will continue to be strong competition from all segments of trucking for drivers. And unless we act, the intermodal industry will feel the driver shortage most.

The Transport and logistics industry is resilient and has overcome many challenges. The driver shortage is just one more hurdle to jump if intermodal transport is going to continue to grow.