Staff Transport to Work: How to Organise Employee Shuttles

Why transport is a staffing issue, not a perk

Many warehouses, plants and agribusinesses sit outside town or in industrial zones where public transport runs rarely or not at all. In that situation even a well-paid vacancy stays open: candidates weigh not only the salary but also the time and money the commute will cost. For foreign workers who don't yet know the city or the language, getting to a 6 a.m. shift on their own is a real obstacle.

Organised transport solves several problems at once: it widens the area you can recruit from, cuts lateness and no-shows, and reduces turnover — see our article on the real cost of staff turnover.

Three staff transport models

1. Company-owned transport. The company buys or leases a bus or minibus and hires a driver. The upside is full control over the schedule; the downside is maintenance, insurance, driver cover and idle time. Whether a licence is needed to carry your own employees by bus is a separate question — professional sources answer it differently, so settle it with a lawyer before launch.

2. A contracted carrier. The most common option for shift work: the carrier provides vehicles and drivers on agreed routes. Check that the carrier holds a licence for domestic passenger transport by bus, and that the contract covers routes, pick-up times, replacement vehicles in case of breakdown and liability for a missed trip.

3. A travel allowance. Workers commute on their own and the company covers part or all of the cost. This works when regular public transport reaches the site, but not for night shifts or remote locations.

A combination often works best: a company bus for the morning and night shifts, plus an allowance for those who live along a public transport route.

Planning routes and capacity

1. Collect addresses. Map where workers live or where housing for foreign staff is located.
2. Choose pick-up points. A few stops where people are concentrated usually beat door-to-door service.
3. Tie trips to shifts. The bus should arrive with time to change and attend the briefing, and leave right after the shift ends.
4. Plan capacity with a buffer. Headcount changes, so leave seats for new hires.
5. Have a backup plan. What happens if the bus breaks down an hour before the shift?

If the employer arranges housing, plan its location together with transport — see our guide to housing for foreign workers.

Safety on the road and during air raid alerts

Drivers must keep to working and rest time rules, and vehicles must be roadworthy and insured. Agree separately with the carrier what happens during an air raid alert: where the vehicle stops, where passengers go and who informs the site about the delay. Explain these rules to foreign workers in a language they understand on their first day.

Costs and accounting

The cost depends on distance, number of trips, vehicle type and occupancy. Compare not only the price per trip but the price per seat: a half-empty bus to a remote site can cost more than taxi fares for a few people.

Tax consequences (in particular, whether employees receive taxable income in the form of an additional benefit) depend on the chosen scheme and documents, so agree the model with your accountant before launch.

Common mistakes

• a route drawn up "by eye" without workers' addresses;
• transport for one shift but not the other, which breaks the schedule;
• a carrier contract with no clause on replacement vehicles;
• nobody on site responsible for transport;
• for rotational sites, forgetting the transfer at the start and end of each rotation (see our article on rotational shift work).

How ASHA Ukraine handles it

When you use manufacturing staff outsourcing or warehouse staff outsourcing, ASHA Ukraine factors logistics into planning: we help align recruitment with the site location, shift schedule and transport, so that a fully staffed shift actually gets to work. We choose the transport model together with the client for each site.

Sources: State Emergency Service of Ukraine — what to do during an air raid alert; check licensing and tax treatment of staff transport against current legislation with a lawyer and accountant. Prepared as of 30.10.2026.