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‘I can’t work with you a moment longer’: boss fires bus drivers with blunt note ‘I can’t work with you a moment longer’: boss fires bus drivers with blunt note
(about 7 hours later)
The boss of a Somerset bus company has taken his fleet off the road without warning and sent a note to staff saying: “I have had enough and realise I cannot work with you a moment longer.” The boss of a Somerset bus company who took his fleet off the road without warning and sent staff a brusque and foul-mouthed note explaining he could not bear to work with them “a moment longer” has been criticised by drivers, mechanics and passengers.
The journeys of hundreds of passengers, including schoolchildren, have been affected. Nippybus drivers and staff have expressed anger at the sudden closure of the company. Staff at Nippybus said they were out of pocket and desperately searching for new jobs to pay their bills, while hundreds of passengers, from children to pensioners, were left trying to find a way to get to school, work and the shops and to keep medical appointments.
The company’s website says: “Nippybus has ceased operational activity with immediate effect. The company has appointed agents who will now work to release the company’s assets and discharge its liabilities.” Campaigners said the Nippybus situation highlighted problems faced by under-pressure bus services, especially in very rural areas, across the UK.
But an internal memo to staff from Sydney Hardy, 57, was much more colourful, saying he was “getting off” after 13 years in charge of the company. In an internal memo to staff, Sydney Hardy, 57, explained in no uncertain terms he was “getting off” after 13 years in charge of Nippybus, which is based in the village of Martock, near Yeovil.
“There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough,” the note continued. “I have had enough and realise I cannot work with you, the people I employ, a moment longer. He wrote: “There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you have had enough. I have had enough and realise I cannot work with you, the people I employ, a moment longer.
“There comes a time in any relationship when you just have to say ‘Fuck it’, say goodbye and move on. This is my time! I am quitting to pursue my dream of not having to work here.”“There comes a time in any relationship when you just have to say ‘Fuck it’, say goodbye and move on. This is my time! I am quitting to pursue my dream of not having to work here.”
Hardy added: “The gates are now closed and will not open so you can stay in your scratchers and have a lie in.”Hardy added: “The gates are now closed and will not open so you can stay in your scratchers and have a lie in.”
Somerset county council said it had to step in at short notice after Hardy’s decision on Sunday to cease operating. The gates were indeed closed on Wednesday and Hardy was not available for further comment. A security guard was posted at the fence and fetched possessions for employees who arrived from time to time. Some were also handed payslips – though they said no money had gone into their banks.
In a statement, the council said: “Nippybus ran several school and public bus contracts as well as a number of demand responsive transport (DRT) services and private services. More than 300 students were affected across four schools. Driver Terry Lehmann said he was “gobsmacked” when he went on the company’s site to check the rota and came across Hardy’s note. “How can a human being do that to his colleagues? It’s disgusting,” he said.
“With the support of other operators, council officers have managed to find replacement services for all of the routes ... and will be making permanent arrangements as soon as possible.” Another driver, Steve Atkins, said staff were “in total shock”, adding: “Everybody’s got mortgages and bills to pay. I’ve had to ring up and cancel all my direct debits. There’s no way I can cover them.”
Nippybus drivers were deeply unimpressed. Dave English, who was a driver at Nippybus for almost nine years, claimed the company was struggling because it had been losing drivers. “Everyone was doing long shifts, but he [Hardy] just expected us to do them. The memo makes out that it’s the drivers’ fault this has happened, but without us he would never have had his company.”
Steve Atkins, 61, said staff were “in total shock”, adding: “Nobody expected it. It was a shock to see an email saying you haven’t got a job tomorrow.” The county council has been working hard to find replacement buses for the routes, including school runs, that were covered by Nippybus.
Atkins, who had been with the company for three years, said: “I’ve already spoken to Citizens Advice. Everybody’s got mortgages and bills to pay. I’ve had to ring up and cancel all my direct debits … There’s no way I can cover them. The main thing is to cover the rent. I don’t know what’s gone through the man’s mind. Martock councillor Neil Bloomfield said many people in the area relied heavily on the buses to get to work and to the shops. “We have a high proportion of people who don’t have cars. They are very isolated without buses.”
“We’ve had problems recruiting drivers, but there are driver shortages all over Somerset. The industry is trapped. The wages aren’t so good. The council – who have had their funding cut – just can’t afford to pay the bus companies to run their services.” Bloomfield said Nippybus had lost drivers to the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant project, which had sucked workers out of all sorts of industries in the south-west. “It is a worry for people here,” he said.
Dave English, 64, who was a driver at Nippybus for almost nine years, said: “It’s disgusting the way it’s been handled. Nobody has any respect for him.” Lianna Etkind, public transport campaigner at the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Buses are the lifeblood of local communities and economies, and play a major part in reducing road congestion and air pollution as well. Unfortunately, we are hearing more and more of small bus companies ceasing operations without any warning, leaving staff without jobs and passengers without a means to get to work or school.”
English claimed the company was struggling because it had been losing drivers. “Everyone was doing long shifts, but he [Hardy] just expected us to do them. The memo makes out that it’s the drivers’ fault this has happened, but without us he would never have had his company. Some of these drivers have children and mortgages.” People from Martock shared their tales of misery caused by the demise of Nippybus. Marie Bennett, who works at Claire’s cafe next to the bus yard, said her 16-year-old daughter, Kaitlyn, was forced to go to college on the back of a motorbike. “I wasn’t so happy with that,” she said. Her boss, Claire Lambert, said the loss of the company would have a knock-on effect on other businesses in the village.
Before it ceased operating, Nippybus claimed it was “one of Somerset’s leading independent bus companies”. A temporary bus service has been running between Yeovil and the village. Jon Tucker, who has relied on the buses since losing a leg in a road accident, said he and his family would struggle without a regular, reliable service.
Speaking from his home in Yeovil on Tuesday, Hardy said: “I have no further comment to make.’’ “I go to the gym in Yeovil three times a week to help improve my mobility and take the children into town to the cinema and bowling at the weekend. We need a good service.”
Retired power company worker Barry Fry said many elderly people would be lost without buses. “There are lots of vulnerable people who rely on that bus.
“We don’t know what is going on at the moment, which is very concerning. It’s disgraceful that the company has acted like this.”