Bus Vannin has paid its drivers more than £760,000 in overtime in the past 12 months.

Figures were released in a written reply by Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall to a Tynwald question from Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse.

Depending on their contract, some drivers are paid overtime at a premium rate. Casual staff are paid the same rate for all hours.

Between October 2023 and September this year more than £905,660 was paid in overtime to all grades of staff at the government-run bus operator.

Of this figure, £736,736 was paid to drivers, including £228,398 paid at the premium rate.

A further £29,578 in overtime was paid to minibus drivers, of which only £2,896 was paid at the premium rate.

Non-driving staff, which includes managers, directors and administrators, received £139,349 in overtime, with £7,960 of that paid at the premium rate.

While the total of £766,314 figure for drivers’ overtimes appears high, it works out at an average of only about £160 a week per driver.

The Tynwald question does not mention that not all drivers get paid overtime, and they are rostered to work more than their contracted 37 hours a week.

Bus Vannin had denied that the cancellation of multiple services seen since the beginning of September is due to contract issues and overtime rates and is instead blaming a shortage of drivers.

Infrastructure Minister admitted last month that he doesn’t know how long the disruption could continue.

At that time he said the full service requires a total of 92 drivers but there were 10 vacancies for full-time drivers and in one week eight were off work due to illness.

Replying to a separate Tynwald question on driver staff levels from Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Tim Glover, Mr Crookall said: ‘The number of drivers has fallen below the ideal full time equivalent level.

‘As the role of bus driver has a very short notice period, internal departmental processes were unable to react quickly enough to secure a timely recruitment process.’