Had an interview with a bus company the other day. Pay is much higher than working on lorrys. Saying 10 an hour 11 after 8, 12 on saurdays, 14 on sundays, shifts seem the same there abouts as the lorrys. Even with the earlys or late shifts.
Training done in house, dispite the bond u have to pay back if you leave early. Getting the job seems almost a no brainer…almost, was offerd job after 15 min chat in the interview. So whats the catch ? is bus driving really that god awfu that noone wants to do it in the first place or so many leave and go back to lorrys dispite the much crapper pay.
Any feed back on this would be interesting ? thanks all
bald bloke:
I can’t see how driving a bus pays better than driving a lorry but I suppose it depends on which type of lorry and for whom.
And to answer the question, general public and general public after the pubs shut.
Is it really that bad ? gess it must be. The pay is only better on lorry with longer hours thow is’nt it ? I rarely see lorry work with an hourly rate over 9.50 an hour.
Unless its coach work, taking the local bowls club to a day out in Dorset, there is no chance I would work on the buses. At least my cargo doesn’t abuse me or trash the place.
Radar19:
Unless its coach work, taking the local bowls club to a day out in Dorset, there is no chance I would work on the buses. At least my cargo doesn’t abuse me or trash the place.
Is it really that bad on the buses ? I have been on loads of bus journeys over the years and only ever knew one real wiredo on the bus. I know it must happen but is it really that bad ?
Radar19:
Unless its coach work, taking the local bowls club to a day out in Dorset, there is no chance I would work on the buses. At least my cargo doesn’t abuse me or trash the place.
Is it really that bad on the buses ? I have been on loads of bus journeys over the years and only ever knew one real wiredo on the bus. I know it must happen but is it really that bad ?
You’ve only been on the same bus as the weirdo for a short length of time, now imagine that situation, all day, every day. Also, how good are you at keeping to a schedule?
spent a year on buses and 11 years on coaches and YES ITS WORSE!!! I’ve now got class 1 and wouldn’t go back unless I was desperate and need to pay bills
Are you looking at local public buses? Is it a city route? Or a nice rural route?
Because it’s a no brainier that your chance of getting a load of weridos followed by drunken idiots being sick and fighting are pretty likely on a city bus route, and pretty unlikely on a rural route.
Or is it private coaches your looking at? Again a different kettle of fish to public buses.
The only common thing and big difference to lorries is that your dealing people all day. If that’s something you like or at least can put up with then fair play and go for it.
I consider getting my cat D one day and maybe have a few years out from lorries to do buses or coaches, just for something different. The people thing doesn’t bother me that much.
I’m surprised on the hourly rates you quoted though. I always thought the hourly rate was same or worse than lorries. Are those rates the norm or is that a particularly good company to work for that you’ve found? And how many hours a week are they offering you?
Not a chance of me doing buses don’t do live loads even if it does tip and reload itself,too much abuse and hassle about to even think about it rather go back to being a limper lol and that’s saying something
Be interesting to know which bus company as a quick search on Stagecoach reveals money around £9.60 for the Megarider & National Express drivers and £16K rising to £20K after a year for a trainee bus driver. Most jobs don’t reveal the money which won’t be brilliant.
However, as for the job - not done it myself, but I do know a couple of people who have and both said they’d never recommend it, as well as the guy who taught me to drive HGV’s who used to be a bus driver for a whole 1 year.
As mentioned city and town routes are likely to get the local nuts and looking for a fight types, whereas rural routes tend to be slowed by dear Aunt Betty fumbling for her bus pass despite having stood at the bus stop for 20 minutes…multiplied by several other Aunt Betty’s who don’t seem to realise there’s a schedule to keep.
Ultimately you’re in charge of the bus and it’s passengers (no conductor anymore), but despite minimum training (very min with Stagecoach) there’ll be plenty of times when you’ve got to get involved and break up fights etc despite what the rules say you should do. You also risk being spat at although the glass screen helps, having people chucking change at you so it goes everywhere and those who think the bus is a public lav.
Plus of course you’re solely responsible for the bus being late regardless of the traffic according to a certain set of passengers. And with all this, you’ve still got to be nice to them or the company says you’re in the wrong! Actually with the aforementioned company, you’ll always be in the wrong regardless of what you do and however well you do it.
Since I got my bus pass I never use the car except to drive to the park and rides. (incidentally I think that is a strange name for them… park and ride gives you the impression of a bit of excitement when you get there definitely misleading.)Many of the drivers were ex truckers and I asked them why they changed jobs and the answer was home every night no sleeping in laybys no dirty showers no awkward customers and the main reason was less stress and self loading freight. They got paid a basic £500 a week plus good overtime if they wanted to do it. They could swop shifts with no bother with another driver if they needed a day off unexpectedly without losing pay They are getting to see their kids growing up not missing any special events and not one of them said he would go back to driving a truck. And what they all liked was here every passenger says thank you when they get off the bus (thats when you know you are in Ireland) They get respect which is a thing not seen much when you drive a truck these days.
They have a good variety of days could be Derry one day Dublin the next and ever changing passengers. The company does all their training free and they all loved the job on the bus. So i suppose it is each to his/her own. I tried driving a bus once many years ago and going around a tight corner alas it wasn’t a bendy but a long bus and I got stuck so it was out for me.
it all depends where you live, big citys worse the people and stress of traffic etc, so pay is more i think, I’ve done hgv,bus and coach , all 3 different, I’ve come off trucks as it is a lonely life and some like it but after living in a tin for a long time I’m going back to bus as to get my social life back, I’m single prob cuz of past job, but i want too be home more in my own bed and not be at running down road 12-15 hrs a day getting grief of other road users knowing i can get abuse at home and not doing long shifts and getting more pay to do same, and when i was on coach theres no cleaning washing fueling etc just get in and go,then get out and go home and be in my own bed.
trevHCS:
Be interesting to know which bus company as a quick search on Stagecoach reveals money around £9.60 for the Megarider & National Express drivers and £16K rising to £20K after a year for a trainee bus driver. Most jobs don’t reveal the money which won’t be brilliant.
However, as for the job - not done it myself, but I do know a couple of people who have and both said they’d never recommend it, as well as the guy who taught me to drive HGV’s who used to be a bus driver for a whole 1 year.
As mentioned city and town routes are likely to get the local nuts and looking for a fight types, whereas rural routes tend to be slowed by dear Aunt Betty fumbling for her bus pass despite having stood at the bus stop for 20 minutes…multiplied by several other Aunt Betty’s who don’t seem to realise there’s a schedule to keep.
Ultimately you’re in charge of the bus and it’s passengers (no conductor anymore), but despite minimum training (very min with Stagecoach) there’ll be plenty of times when you’ve got to get involved and break up fights etc despite what the rules say you should do. You also risk being spat at although the glass screen helps, having people chucking change at you so it goes everywhere and those who think the bus is a public lav.
Its with stage coach. Thay told me its 7.50 an hour during training, 2 to 3 weeks to train then 2 to 3 weeks with a mentor shareing the bus all day long. After this pay will rise to 10.30 an hour, then 11.08 after 8 pm, then sat and sun round 12 an hour. I might be lucky in the area that im living in, cotswolds area, so will be country routs and between towns mostly. So im hoping it wont be so bad.
If i was living in manchester, liverpool, birmingham, glasgow, penzance, london ect I would be more worried about the trouble. not that there anr’t any wirdos round here corse, just less of them i hope.
Surely it cant be all that bad all the time either, i gess is the point im try make ? 80 % of the time it must be fairly elite. I was in retail for many years so amybe in usest to it all anyway. Rude people, shop lifters, gangs of Dids on the menace, confused old people, goby chavs with prams lol, hoping I will be used to
Plus of course you’re solely responsible for the bus being late regardless of the traffic according to a certain set of passengers. And with all this, you’ve still got to be nice to them or the company says you’re in the wrong! Actually with the aforementioned company, you’ll always be in the wrong regardless of what you do and however well you do it.
and be in my own bed.