Thousands turned down for jobs as bus drivers

Thousands of people who applied to be bus drivers in the West Midlands have been turned down, with many rejected for penalty points on their driving licences, it has emerged.

Scores of vacancies for bus drivers remain unfilled. National Express West Midlands took on 420 bus drivers over the last year out of 4,500 applicants. A spate of older drivers retiring created 170 more spaces.

But, despite the high number of people looking for jobs, bosses are still seeking more because of the number that failed to make the grade.

They blamed the failure rate on applicants having points on their driving licences.