Bus Vannin has announced even more cancellations as the service continues to be plagued by staffing issues.
An afternoon service between Douglas and Port Erin and a return journey had to be cancelled on Monday which follows on from a raft of cancellations two weekends ago.
The company had managed to avoid any cancellations the weekend but they have faced problems once more this week.
Posting on Facebook on Tuesday morning, Bus Vannin revealed cancelled services include the 9.15am 4b from Lord Street, Douglas to Peel, the 10.08am 4b from Peel to Douglas, the 10.37am 6 from Lord Street to House of Manannan and the 11.10am 6 from House of Manannan to Douglas.
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Bus Vannin said: ‘With the loss of key staff due to sickness in service today we have been unable to cover their service runs, our staff have juggled work around to minimise impact at afternoon peak
‘This will have an effect for today and the week ahead, we will update at our earliest opportunity
‘We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused, the team continues to work hard to minimise the impact for service users.’
On Monday Bu Vannin confirmed the 1.30pm No 1 Douglas to Port Erin service had been cancelled and the No 11 from Port Erin to Douglas had also been scrapped.
Last weekend proved particularly difficult with a number of services cancelled as a result of ‘operational constraints’ included popular routes such as Port Erin to Lord Street, Douglas to Ramsey, Peel to Lord Street and Ballachrink to Port Erin.
The company explained that there are several vacancies while there are also a ‘number of long-term absentees’. The company sometimes relies on casual drivers but not enough were available at last weekend.
Over that period, 19 services were unable to be operated on the Saturday and four on the Sunday.
The company said: ‘The bus timetable needs drivers to work overtime, particularly at weekends. Last weekend it was not possible to secure enough drivers to run the full service.
‘There are currently 10 full-time vacancies from a full establishment of 92 - plus a number of long-term absentees - and a recruitment process is underway.
‘Bus Vannin can also ask its casual drivers to provide cover, but last weekend it was not possible to fulfil all of the duties.’
However, Bus Vannin denied any staff walked out or that fulltime drivers undertook private work.
Customers are encouraged to use findmybus.im to track buses and gauge arrival times. Alternatively, help is available by calling the Welcome Centre on 686801.