Europe's Driver Shortage Tops 500,000: What Bus, Train and Plane Operators Earn in Czechia

According to the International Road Transport Union (IRU), Europe is currently short of more than 502,000 professional drivers, and around 660,000 more are expected to retire by 2030 — roughly a fifth of the continent's entire driving workforce. The shortage hits bus and truck drivers hardest, as their profession is seen as less prestigious than piloting a plane or driving a train.

Jiří Halbrštát, director of recruitment and marketing at ManpowerGroup, explains that money isn't the main reason for the staffing gap. "A long-haul truck driver spends long hours alone, away from home for days at a time, works irregular shifts, and bears responsibility for the vehicle, the cargo and the safety of other road users," he says. According to him, truck and bus drivers are just as indispensable as pilots, yet society respects them far less.

Another problem is that the profession mainly attracts middle-aged men. Women make up just 4% of truck drivers in the EU, which is why the IRU singles out women and young people as the industry's two biggest untapped labour reserves.

How much drivers earn

In 2025, the median salary for bus, trolleybus and tram drivers in Czechia reached CZK 51,544, with the average at CZK 52,786. For truck, tractor-trailer and heavy machinery drivers, the median came to about CZK 38,000. Actual income depends heavily on overtime, bonuses, per diems and international routes — over the past twenty years, pay for professional drivers has risen roughly 2.5 to 3 times, outpacing the national average wage growth.

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, since 2012 the sharpest wage growth among transport professions has been seen among bus, trolleybus and tram drivers, as well as train drivers — their average income has more than doubled. Last year, train drivers earned nearly CZK 69,000 before tax on average, while bus, trolleybus and tram drivers earned close to CZK 53,000.

Pilots remain the top earners. Training from scratch takes about two years and costs roughly CZK 1.6 million, but pilot salaries are notably above average in return. It's the only profession among those examined where statistics since 2012 show sharp swings in average monthly earnings, reflecting the small number of pilots and the wide spread in their pay.

What it takes to get behind the wheel

Amid the labour shortage, hiring activity is picking up. According to the JenPráce.cz job portal, an average of around 200 vacancies a month were posted in driving-related categories during the first half of this year — a third more than in the first half of 2023. Each bus or truck driver vacancy draws about 35 applications, but portal analyst Michal Španěl stresses that this doesn't mean there are enough qualified candidates — employers need not just someone willing to work, but someone with the right licence, medical clearance and qualifications.

A Category C licence for trucks over 3.5 tonnes costs 25,000–30,000 crowns at a driving school, while adding Category E, which allows towing trailers over 750 kg, adds another 10,000–20,000 crowns. A Category D licence for buses also costs several tens of thousands of crowns. On top of that, professional truck and bus drivers must complete separate vocational training — another few tens of thousands of crowns and 140 or 280 hours of classes. This certification must be renewed every five years for around 7,000 crowns.

Becoming a train driver is possible from age 20, given medical clearance and a licence — the whole process takes about a year, and employers usually cover the training costs for future train drivers.

Many transport companies cover the cost of courses and driving school themselves — for instance, Arriva, which runs bus and rail services, fully pays for training for new employees in exchange for a commitment to work a set period afterwards. According to company representative Jan Holub, women make up 3% of Arriva's train drivers and 6% of its bus drivers. Holub notes that companies would welcome a dedicated professional driver training programme within the Czech education system, and while he describes the current workforce as stable, he admits the company would be willing to hire more drivers to rely less on temporary staff.

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz