oddsodz:
Coffeeholic:
Not sure about that odds, I know a couple of coach drivers and some of their tales would indicate that on some tours there is a degree of ‘handballing’ goes on.
no coffee thats backhanders for the extra excursion !!! when down at lake garda
backhanders are`nt just limited to garda 
neil is right ■■■■■■■ cases around is hard graft
you would be amazed the size and weight cases come in
jon
What ever you do dont go for a job driving a bus. I did and im still at it looking for an excuse to leave!
Ive worked for First and im soon to start with Stagecoach, First is a no go area and advise anyone wanting to go into bus driving not to touch First Group. The shifts with first where extremly bad starting about 2.30pm finishing at midnight and only paying under 8 hours for 9 and a half hours work sometimes more.
As for the passengers, most of the time they are fine but you do get the drunks and druggies out there who only want to make your life hell as well as kids wanting to put windows in, shout abuse at you and then theres the ones who want to harm myself.
Im only sticking this work until ive got a bit of money behind me so I can get out of Bus Driving and get into HGV driving, at least ive had the expraince of driving large vehicles and know how to handle the size and treat other road users. Im hoping to go for HGV license next summer, Should not have much bother with Class 1 or 2 as I have exprance with driving Rigid and Articulated buses and can also reverse which meny PCV drivers cant!
if you want any more info drop me a pm and get hold of me,
I hope you dont do it, you need a slap if you do go for it!!!
Danny
Thanks for the advice guys. I think on that advice i will give it a miss. The reason i was tempted is 'cause its local work & a local company were offering to train you up for your PCV (£6.50 training & £7.00 when you passed test) - crappy. Big thing is though you have to stay there for 2 years or pay over a £1000 back!! Sounds like that would be a prison sentance!!! I think looking at the reasons everyone has given i think i would be stupid to do it. I’m gonna stick to the freedom of driving the trucks! Cheers 
good to see! a man with sense!
just wished I had some when i went for my PCV, another year and I can go for my HGV test
I drive for National Express and since leaving bus work I haven’t looked back. The money may be average but all I do is a single return journey everyday which is 6 hours driving. I have many regular customers, get many tips and soon we’re getting new coaches. Because I live close to the depot and the work a 6 hour day I get to see my family often too.
If I wanted to earn more money I could do tours etc somewhere else but then I’d never be home. I am sure that this follows with HGV work too.
i enjoyed my time at national express,they are a good company to work for as long as they renew your contract with them
i worked on leeds- london and liverpool routes and found all the nat ex staff good and stuck together with the drivers when joe public started giving grief
there are now no decent companys on nat ex work in west yorks
(national express run very few coaches, all the routes are contracted to companys who must run in corprate colours and uniform)
jon
I fancied doing longer distance work and I will have a teaser with Stagecoach at longer distance journeys when I start in 10 hours time!
Im still thinking of leaving the bus industry behind totaly as no matter what you do you will always get the same problems no matter where you go, maybe just not as much on longer distance motorway work but you still have to deal with the passengers. After nearly 2 years dealing with them im starting to loose my rag with them and im finding that the smallest thing makes me snap at them. I no longer have the patients for a lot of the passengers as I used to do but I still try! which is not what a lot of other bus drivers do!
Way I see it is with HGV driving you still have the managers wanting you to keep to a timetable, still get the usual rubbish hours but none of the hassles from passengers complaining about you being late, fares, driving style!, and maybe because they could not get there fix that morning they take there frustration out on the driver.
As you probably guess I hate my job, but love the driving! fresh air, out on your own making your own rules and getting paid to do something you enjoy.
jon boy 100:
i enjoyed my time at national express,they are a good company to work for as long as they renew your contract with them
i worked on leeds- london and liverpool routes and found all the nat ex staff good and stuck together with the drivers when joe public started giving grief
there are now no decent companys on nat ex work in west yorks
(national express run very few coaches, all the routes are contracted to companys who must run in coprate colours and uniform)
jon
Ive found that no matter where you work all drivers seemed to stick together. During tough times we had a laugh, usualy at the passengers expense and would always keep together and keep each other informed about sneaky excersises.
Where I am NatEx work is basicly contracted out to 2 main operators which ive heard are good to work for. But they wont employ me due to my age so if I did decided to go for nat ex work I would have to wait a few years, and hopefully by that time I will be working else where on the road without having to stop and pick up complaining customers!
hi daniel
when i said nat ex staff i was refering to all the staff including station staff and inspecters,who tend to side with the drivers as well
parks are a good company up your way who do nat ex and long haul too
jon
I have a HGV1, ADR and PSV and I can tell you that I enjoy the bus driving much more than the trucking. I am home every night and ok you do get hassle on the bus but I try not to get involved with the passengers. First in Glasgow are paying £8 per hour, £10 weekends which is good enough for me.
I would love to work in France or Spain driving service busses and so far I have not been able to find anyone who has done it. I would appriciate some advice. Truck drivers seem to find difficulty finding work abroad is it the same if you are looking for bus work?
ive just left first first glasgow because Im never off nights and im always working till after midnight. Depot Staff are a waste of space, Depot managers are complete and utter idiots. All right you get £8 per hour but I would rather have a job where the conditions where good and have a lower pay with decent shift’s than have the high pay rate.
p.s what depot are you from?
im now working for Stagecoach Glasgow and so far the job seems much much better than First’s sorry excuse for a job with your earliest start at 5pm and latest finish is before 10pm in the depot - you cant complain!
I used to work for First (Cornwall) 
what a shower of mis-guided, back stabbing, un-faithful, lying, moronic, over zealous, over-rated, stuck up jerks 
Gave all the drivers at my out station glowing annual reports, told us how good we were and how much we were needed and then closed us and 4 other depots down
Offered us a job at the nearest depot 25miles away, with no offer of assistance. Politely handed in my notice (NOT) and left, refused to pay me last weeks wages (£225) unless I handed in takings (£355) Guess who won 
Would not recomend FIRST to my worst enemy.
John
its this exact thing that causes First to have such a high turnover of staff. I for one will not put up with being told what to do and being threatend that if I didnt do it I would lose my job. I for one will not risk my driving license for them.
If thats how they treated me how meny others get treated the exact same way and put up with it? If more people stood up to them then and refused to do illegal work then they would crumble but there is far too meny people out there willing to risk everything for a few quid extra.
First paid me my last weeks money, and I still have the uniform and bus pases which come in handy when traveling to the relief points for Stagecoach! - jump on First group bus with Stagecoach uniform and First Group pass.
danielwilkie
My family and I, were given FIRST staff travel passes, what a load of tosh that was, the services were so un-reliable and infrequent, it was quicker to walk, never even tried to use the passes.
As for shifts 14.5hr days, but only paid for 10 because you were not driving, just sitting around out of date, delapitated, crumbling bus stations with no facilities 
And as for the buses 15year old hopper buses and out of the ark deckers, that were as reliable as … (fill in the blanks)
Oh and then there is the foul mouthed school kids who can get away with murder, the drunks who throw up and urinate on the bus (same smell on all buses) and the ‘I’m always right’ customer!
Oh how I love my TRUCK
wilson:
I have a HGV1, ADR and PSV and I can tell you that I enjoy the bus driving much more than the trucking. I am home every night and ok you do get hassle on the bus but I try not to get involved with the passengers. First in Glasgow are paying £8 per hour, £10 weekends which is good enough for me.I would love to work in France or Spain driving service busses and so far I have not been able to find anyone who has done it. I would appriciate some advice. Truck drivers seem to find difficulty finding work abroad is it the same if you are looking for bus work?
yes you might get 8-10 quid per hour,but one day you might have to deal with them passengers that cause trouble.and please bare in mind them 70 passengers that you carry are your responsibility.i’d want more than that to carry passengers who’s life is in my hands.
as for overseas driving i think experiance is required 1st.there are a couple of coach/bus drivers on here.
ps where abouts are you from
I know how horrible but well paid bus driving can be. But for those of you bus drivers who have never done long distance coach work, it is a completely different sort of working environment. Yes you do get a few difficult passengers but they are very much a minority; most people are on holiday and in a holiday mood. Often the coach trip is the main part of their journey. Because coaches don’t have the usual often compulsory assault screens, you can get to know fellow passengers sitting behind you, and obviously the driving experience is different as obviously you won’t be stopping at bus stops every 30 seconds and coaches are more comfortable and less noisy than a similar bus of the same age, not too mention usually quite powerful with the ability to cruise at 100 km/h with ease.
But you need experience first. If the company such as First or Stagecoach also provide contracted National Express services, doing bus work then applying for National Express work is the way to go. My company tended to be quite picky about who they let onto the coaches. You have to have reliable and get on well with the public. Most of the Nat ex staff I know get on well with the public in different ways. Once you’ve done Nat ex type work for a while you can then approach other companies with that experience to do continental work. I’ve been offered the chance to go abroad but I dont want to leave Nat ex and my 6 hour days and the fact I only live 5 mins drive from my depot. My earliest start is 6am and the latest finish is 11pm. There are only 5 shifts so most start/finish times are in between.
Once you get into coach driving, if your company loses its Nat ex contract, with all the experience you will have gained there is nothing stopping you going to a decent coach company elsewhere.
I know people who earn excellent company doing tours abroad. From what I understand once they have done their main bit taking passengers to Italy, Spain wherever. the company ‘hire’ out the coach to the driver who pays for fuel/insurance, and provided he drives within his hours, he can do tours for his customers and charge them accordingly. Not only that, but if you take them to certain outlets enroute , they give you a commission based on how much passengers spend there. A great chance to have a holiday and earn a buck.
Of course you have to be a social person to do this job. I think trucking is for people who prefer to be left alone. I see myself as more of a social/customer service type person than a ‘driver’…
Thanks to all you professional drivers who replied to my message. Like most of you I have been a driver all my working life and am proud to describe myself as such. Just now I am working with First at there Motherwell Depot and I have experienced no problems with any of the staff. Perhaps it’s just the depot you work out of.
As for Stagecoach Glasgow, they are pish! The guys are great but the pay is terrible and that is what you go out to work for. Anyway, going to try Scotrail they apparently like bus drivers as they are used to working shifts and the puplic. The money is good and who knows where it would lead to. [/list]
Forgot to mention. Being physically fit is a must as unlike Truck drivers we have to handle heavy suitcases and clean the vehicle (outside and inside) and of course there is ‘dropping the loo’ …
