Bus drivers who don't crash get €300,000

BUS ÉIREANN spends about €300,000 a year on awards to drivers who manage not to crash their buses for a minimum of 200 days.

The company gives a Safe Driving Award to every driver who is “accident free” for each year in which they have been on the road for at least 200 days.

Drivers who meet the criteria receive vouchers worth €250. The successful drivers in each of five regions – east, south, southwest, west and northwest – also go through to a regional draw for a prize of €1,500.

A spokesman for the company said it was a “remarkable achievement” for drivers to be accident free.

“Our drivers can each travel more than a million kilometres over a year and it is a remarkable achievement to be accident free given the distances they drive in often difficult conditions.”

There was also a cost saving benefit to the awards, he said, as fewer collisions meant less money spent on fixing vehicles.

“The Safe Driving Awards are a means to congratulate drivers for their skill and expertise in being accident free. The awards also help contribute to reducing our costs by cutting down on vehicle maintenance and repair.”

It has been a long-standing practice to reward drivers who have been accident free over significant periods of time, the spokesman said. The company previously gave cash bonuses to drivers but moved to a voucher system in 2009.

The company is seeking tenders for the supply of gift cards for the awards scheme. The value of the awards is outlined in the tender documents as being about €300,000 a year. About 1,600 drivers work for Bus Éireann, and the figures indicate fewer than 1,200 would qualify for an award in any year.

In addition to vouchers, drivers get “presentational awards” when they reach certain accident-free milestones. After five years they receive a pin, at 10 years they get a vase, at 15 years it is a plate, at 20 years they are given another vase, after 25 years they receive a watch, at 30 years they get a clock, and drivers who make it to 35 years are rewarded with a lamp.

Certificates of achievement are also presented to these drivers.