Shortage of truck drivers * India - May turn speed bump for economy

A growing shortage of young men to climb into the driver’s seat may seem a prosaic problem at a time when an expanding network of interstate highways

Shortage of drivers in Mumbai
Mumbai,India -Live Mint, by Shally Seth -24 Feb 2011: -- The loneliness of the long-distance trucker may have been romanticized in novels and films, but hard realities such as punishing work schedules and harassment at octroi posts have created a shortage of truck drivers in India at a time when easier and more attractive employment options are available to young men...  A growing shortage of young men to climb into the driver’s seat may seem a prosaic problem at a time when an expanding network of interstate highways and the creation of a seamless national market after the introduction of the goods and services tax could make it easier for companies and distributors to ferry industrial inputs and finished goods around the country. But officials in the logistics industry and fleet owners warn that the looming driver shortage could eventually harm economic activity...  Twenty-five-year-old Bittu Singh echoes the woes of his profession when he complains: “No one likes a truck driver. Everyone harasses us”  His typical day involves haggling with the men manning toll booths, paying off policemen and managing the paperwork needed to ferry cargo to and from Mumbai in his truck...  N.L. Gupta, managing director of Caravan Roadways Ltd, which owns 300 trucks, said: “Competition to get freight from clients was always there. Now there’s competition to get drivers.” He added that 5-15% of the fleet is idling at most transport firms at any point of time due to shortage of drivers. Gupta said his own fleet expansion plans have been hit...  The makers and buyers of trucks warn of the wider implications of the looming driver shortage. Vijay Sankeshwar, chairman of VRL Logistics Ltd, said: “If the government, transporters and vehicle makers do not take adequate steps to improve the condition of truck drivers, the days are not far when everything will come to a standstill,” he said...   “Pet paalna hai, jo naseeb mein hai, so hoga (We have to earn our livelihood, what’s written is your destiny),” said a stoic Bittu Singh, as he stands up to get behind the wheels for his next journey from the trucking centre in Kalamboli in Panvel near Mumbai...