The boss of Stagecoach South West hopes a potential new pay deal with unions will improve its service and attract more drivers, after months of disrupted services.

Chief Executive Mike Watson offered his "deepest apologies for any anxiety and uncertainty that was caused," after a strike by members of the RMT union on Monday 18 October was called off with just hours to go.

He hoped there would be "imminent agreement" with the union for hourly driver rates to increase from £10.76 to £11.24, an increase of 4.4 per cent, while a new contract with an £11.80 rate was also on the table following weeks of negotiations.

Previously Stagecoach had offered a 2.2 per cent 'no-strings' rise or a 9.7 per cent deal linked to what the company called "productivity improvements" and the union referred to as "savage cuts."

The RMT said it called off the walkout "to allow members to have their say on a revised offer received from the company in last ditch talks." The new pay offer has gone to a referendum of the union's members, with the RMT recommending acceptance.

However, they're now concerned Stagecoach has provided a "narrative" that "misrepresented the facts … mischaracterised the negotiations and misled the public with statements that do not tell them the whole story."

Speaking at a meeting of the Exeter highways and traffic orders committee, Mr Watson claimed the "substantial increase" would go a long way to helping the firm attract more staff, with high demand for HGV drivers leading to huge rises in the amount of money companies are willing to offer.

He told councillors the company was about 50 drivers short in Exeter, which was why there were currently disruptions to many services, but added it had received "a lot of applications" for the vacancies.

"It takes a moment to lose a bus driver, but it then takes about 15 weeks to replace them. So, like a lot of sectors we've found ourselves in a position where people have evaluated their careers post-covid and made changes.

"We've had a lot of movement in the labour market – we've seen the HGV sector put its wages up – so as a consequence we've had a number of staff leave."

Mr Watson said the potential agreement with the RMT was "hopefully something that will pave the way for us to recover and get back to level of service that you're used to."

When questioned about buses not turning up, he added that specific services were being cancelled online the evening before, while the firm's mobile app provides updates on the location of buses.

RMT members have until Tuesday 26 October at 10am to vote on Stagecoach's latest pay offer. The union says that in the event members reject their leader's recommendation of agreeing to the deal, they would review the outcome and probably enter into new negotiations.