I was literally going to apply for my Cat C Licence this week, but yesterday I had an offer of an Interview for a trainee bus driver position in Bournemouth (Yellow buses) for next Friday.
After getting the offer it has made me think more about going for the bus position, but then I hear a lot of people saying that working on the buses was a complete nightmare. The only reason I’m considering is because it’s stable with a fairly good salary with a minimum of 39 hours a week.
I would love to hear from anyone who has worked on the buses and hold their Cat C licence, and what would they recommend and why. I’m more than willing to pay for my HGV licence if the buses wasn’t suitable.
To be honest, I’m not sure I can be bothered dealing with the public all day long lol
Gaz88:
I passed my car licence in 1995 and I don’t have a provisional Cat C licence just yet. I’ve never had any medicals done for a driving role.
What were you thinking ROG?.. Getting my Prov licence 1st?
From that I gather you have not got PCV D or LGV C full or provisional so the first step is to get a cheap D4 medical and tick obth C & D on the D2 provisional form
While you are waiting for that to be processed you can think about which to go for
Have I summed up your situation correctly ?
PS - you have driver cpc acquired/grandfather rights for both PCV & LGV so I would go to a provider who has the practical training approved for dcpc so you can get at least some of the 35 periodic dcpc hours needed
You could choose to do initial tests 2 + 4 but to me that would not be the best option
I’m one of the odd ones, which many will cheerfully confirm, that is equally happy driving a bus, coach or truck. But that’s unusual. If you cant deal with the public, then the choice is obvious. But free training is also attractive. Look carefully at the contract terms for the “tie in” following training.
The only person who really knows the answer is you.
Yeah I agree. The free training is definitely attractive, but then it’s when I’m actually working and dealing with the public, especially as the yellow buses are still running till 11pm at night. I can just imagine the crap I would have to deal with.
My decision would be 100% with the Cat C licence if I knew I could get tipper and skip work afterwards, but a couple of companies I have contacted have said I would need 2 years experience. I’m not looking for huge money, long distance or night work. Just a regular stable income
Gaz88:
I’m not looking for huge money, long distance or night work. Just a regular stable income
That is a bus drivers job then!
I’ve done both and would go back driving buses if I needed to. I prefer HGV’s though. You do find a camaraderie between bus drivers you don’t get with truck drivers.
If you’ve got the money to do your Cat C - do your Cat C
If not, Take the Cat D training ( I’m assuming that will be paid for and you’ll pay it off weekly or have to stay with yellow for two years or similar)
I hated being a bus driver but used the free training to help get me accustomed to driving a larger vehicle, kind of like a stepping stone. When I did my Cat C, I had no problems at all.
I went down the route of busses because I couldn’t afford to put myself through class c at the time. Started with First bus and the put me through my training, it was to be paid back weekly at 20£ per week for 2 years.
The busses aren’t the worst thing in the world tbh, yes you got the odd idiot but 99.9% of the time if you are decent to them they are decent back. Ive had 1 or 2 proper arguments over the past 2 years, never once been attacked or anything though and at First bus we were driving around the schemes of Glasgow till the early hours of the morning.
The way to think of it is, you don’t pay outright for the training so if you don’t have a spare 1200£ lying about then it’s perfect to give you experience of driving larger vehicles. It is a steady income and there will always be busses required. There is plenty of bus and coach operators so you will find work if you want a change of company. The money isn’t the worst either so can help with getting money towards your class 2 if that’s what you want to do.
If I was you I would give it a go and if you don’t like it then you can move on.
Here in alberta a class one licence covers buses and coaches as well as artics straight trucks etc . In 2008 I decided on a career change from semi long haul class fuel tanker driver to urban Calgary transit. A complete change for a 57 year old involving a 4 week course …its nearly 8 years now and I ve adapted well…paid for every minute now work a 7 hour 20min straight shift Monday to Friday Would be illegal back home in England).The downside is dealing with the public you can either do this or you cant and its very tiring I m knackered every day working half as long as I did trucking .Bus work can be a cheap way to enter the transportation field and I would not put anyone off from trying this.
