PCV = D
do you have LGV ?
I can get it for FREE from a local bus company but then have to work for them for 2 years …OR ELSE! etc. etc…
There are various early leaving clauses depending what company and contract you have.
There are plenty of posts on driving buses on the forums - try ‘buses’ in a site search
Little tip - when you apply for either C or D tick the provisional box for BOTH - the one medical will cover both and if you go for the other in the future you will not need to do a seperate medical - or apply for the provisional.
The INITIAL driver CPC and theory is different for LGV & PCV so all 4 modules will be required for each.
When you get either or both then the PERIODIC driver CPC covers both so only one lot of 35 hours training over 5 years - not two lots of 35 hours - but that seems some time away for you at the moment 
MRC:
Do I need to send my driving licence off to the DVLA or is it a completely different card until I pass…
The whole process for LGV (which is the same for PCV) can be seen by clicking the link in my signature
MRC:
35 hours over 5 years? Surely it wouldnt take that long??
Sorry if I confused you slightly 
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You will need THE INITIAL DRIVER CPC - this one is for LGV but the process is the same for PCV
THE PERIODIC (ongoing) DRIVER CPC is the 35 hour over 5 years BUT you do not need to worry about this until you have passed either a PCV or LGV test.
Remember that you will only get an automatic licence from a large bus company.Lots of posters say that they have left before the 2 years are up.I think that there is more job security on the buses.
Bus Driver Over Here!
Yes, Job Security doing Bus work is pretty much guaranteed, which does come in very handy given the current state of affairs in this country.
Bus Driving does get quite samey, doing the same routes over and over again can drive you quite NUTTY sometimes, along with picking up the undesirables that walk the streets of the town and etc. However, the key is how you deal with it.
I very rarely intervene with incidents on buses now because last time a load of people moaned that the bus was now running late and they wanted to get home…so fine, I won’t bother now! People’s mentality has now reached the point where they only care about themselves and if there’s an incident taking place on the bus it’s MY fault for delaying them?
Overall though I don’t think I’d ever give Bus work up, Coach work requires you to be a Butler for being paid much MUCH less and you never know what your hours are OR where you might be going (personally I hated that, being messed about constantly)…Trucking, well I would consider doing Containers but the whole LGV side of things looks too complicated and annoying to start doing.
Bus work is probably the most sociable of the Professional Driving careers you can choose, you pretty much get to know everyone who works in the company (Drivers that is), you’re paid by the MINUTE and when you break down (which you eventually will) you’re not 5 Million Miles away from the Depot or where you live!!
For example, I broke down yesterday in Butlocks Heath at 18:53 when my offside wiper’s spring decided to spring out of its holding, causing the wiper to snap and fall forwards…shortly followed by the fuse for the wiper system to blow!
All buses are fully automatic so they’re a doddle to drive and they’re maintained by Apes…so it’ll eventually blow up! We have a certain type of Bus at our Depot, where if you take them above speeds of 40mph they overheat very quickly and break down…that goes to show you how well they’re looked after.
It’s a Laugh and I love it!
Richard
The Lyonator:
We have a certain type of Bus at our Depot, where if you take them above speeds of 40mph they overheat very quickly and break down…
Darts 
You’d be surprised to hear that it’s actually the Volvo B10BLEs, typically found on the Wright Renown body.
The Dennis Darts don’t usually come a cropper on the Motorways, mainly because each Dart varies between each bus that it’s so rare to find a Dart that goes faster than 50mph…even then the Speedo is usually so inaccurate that you’re probably never going faster than 45!
Richard
The Bus Company I currently work for pays £8.87/Hour M-F and £10.87/Hour S-S+BH (Bank Holidays). Before overtime and after tax the minimum take-home is around £285/Week, although with overtime this can soar, I’ve managed to take home £480/Week NETT after doing 7 days!
The company I work for has a fully computerised system called DAS (Duty Allocation System), which lists all work that you do to the minute. Pay Roll then pays you based on what DAS has entered onto it, before being checked by allocated people on the Monday before it’s sent off for processing.
Major Bus Companies will have an authorised Theory Test Centre at a particular depot within the region and employ a Driving Examiner (Delegated) who works for the Bus Company as in-house examiner working to the DSA Procedure for all Practical Driving and CPC Module 4 Demonstration Tests.
The Training Bonds have gone up since the introduction of Driver CPC as there is now additional tests to be conducted:
1a) Theory - Multiple Choice Questions (licence aquisition)
1b) Theory - Hazard Perception Test (licence aquisition)
2) Theory - Case Studies (Driver CPC)
3) Practical - Driving Test (licence aquisition), and
4) Practical - CPC Module 4 Demonstration (Driver CPC).
Typically the bus companies will work in the following order for Provisional PCV Driving Licence Holders:
1a
1b
2
4, and
3
They typically get you to do 4 before 3 as the Driving Test is the most demanding and should you pass 3 then you fail 4 you can legally walk away with a Free PCV Driving Licence and simply complete 4 by yourself…if I remember correctly most Training Bonds have legal wording to say the Agreement only comes into force once you have completed the whole DSA Testing Procedure!
The company I work for will also pay you £1/Hour less for the life of the Training Bond…so they get their money back anyway! However I think our Training Bond has a specific section where the amount you owe back to the company reduces by a certain amount after every month of employment following the end of the DSA Testing Procedure.
There’s a way to not pay back a single penny should you REALLY hate it after you’ve done the whole process…get sacked!! Quite a few have done that at our place as our Tc and Cs for the Training states should you be Dismissed then the Agreement will immediately dissolve!
Richard
Good God No…it’s not like the Trucking Industry, if you’ve got a PCV Licence (Provisional/Automatic/Manual) and a Pulse then as the saying goes, “You’re In!”
I drove a Coach under L-Plates 4 days after my 18th Birthday and passed my Driving Test 10 days later…the youngest employee they’ve taken on as a PCV Driver! Left the company 19 months later but back with them now, been everywhere else with my Licence and seen what Coaching is like…Nooo Thankyouuu!
Richard
It’s not uncommon for volvos to start playing up when they get worked a bit hard. Fully laden yesterday (18t) I very nearly didn’t make it up birdlip hill…
What’s strange though is it’s just the 1 type of Volvo vehicle that always seems to overheat and it’s always the B10BLE buses. Strange as they’re fitted with 5-speed ZF Automatics (5th being overdrive) and are designed to get upto 62mph (100km/h) as quickly as possible, the D10A engine fitted to them simply delivers bone-shattering torque and power…buses are supposed to be slow and hold the whole world up!
We have older vehicles than the B10BLE Volvos in our fleet, they’re double-deck Volvo Olympians and they not only feature 1 less Gear on them (no overdrive, basic 4-speed ZF Auto) but they can be driven at their Maximum Geared Speed of 53mph (85km/h) at 2100rpm and the Temp. Gauge doesn’t move a muscle!
I love Volvo CVs and love it every time I get to drive a Volvo Bus…even if its reliability is called into question!!
Richard
The Lyonator:
What’s strange though is it’s just the 1 type of Volvo vehicle that always seems to overheat and it’s always the B10BLE buses. Strange as they’re fitted with 5-speed ZF Automatics (5th being overdrive) and are designed to get upto 62mph (100km/h) as quickly as possible, the D10A engine fitted to them simply delivers bone-shattering torque and power…buses are supposed to be slow and hold the whole world up!We have older vehicles than the B10BLE Volvos in our fleet, they’re double-deck Volvo Olympians and they not only feature 1 less Gear on them (no overdrive, basic 4-speed ZF Auto) but they can be driven at their Maximum Geared Speed of 53mph (85km/h) at 2100rpm and the Temp. Gauge doesn’t move a muscle!
I love Volvo CVs and love it every time I get to drive a Volvo Bus…even if its reliability is called into question!!
Richard
Ive driven a Super Pointer Dart at 70 mph on a motorway 
What with the standard 4-speed Allison Automatic??