Anyone ever done any PCV work…or thought about it ?
I’ve got a PCV licence but never used it in the 20years I’ve had it. But I’d recently seen a large bus company where I live paying £11ph for drivers so I sent off for the info/ application pack. Pension, sick pay, shares, 8/9 hour shifts and home every night… There’s a lot of haulage firms local to me paying (the same as working in Kentucky Fried Chicken) £6.31ph to £8ph, or like what I get, a daily rate for LGV1 work. In comparison is doesn’t look too bad
Just got me wondering, if it’s better money would you be tempted ?
Bear in mind for that £11 per hour you will more than likely be carrying your share of 70+ school kids; doing the last bus from town on a Friday or Saturday night; dealing with endless stupid questions - such as being asked where you’re going even though it says exactly that on the front of the bus - and encountering no end of smart-arses.
The other thing is the vehicles themselves… it is not particularly unusual for bus operators to run their kit for 15 or more years. With four or five drivers a day, every day over that period you can imagine what kind of states some buses are in.
Some large firms advertise rates UP TO £11.00 per hour.The catch is that you start on a lower rate and when you gain seniority they get rid of you and start the whole process again.I am on the buses though mainly school work,not service.Could you cope with stopping every few hundred yards?I think that coaching or long distance would be better .
I did service work in glasgow and hated every single day,without fail.the public are at best annoying.you got given spit kits and they liked to grog at you.i wouldnt want my worst enemy do it.avoid like it like the fat bird at closing time
nearly there:
I did service work in glasgow and hated every single day,without fail.the public are at best annoying.you got given spit kits and they liked to grog at you.i wouldnt want my worst enemy do it.avoid like it like the fat bird at closing time
Fat birds are always grateful though
And buy them a kebab and they’ll let you do the full Alf Roberts
Chances are you’ll get a bacon buttie in the morning too, if your stomach wasn’t too turned the night before
Give it a try if you fancy it. Its not that bad. Can get a bit monotonous though. I liked service work, but that may be because it was my first driving job long before I got a job driving a trundlewagon.
I’d love to do my bus licence, just to keep in hand for later years
PaulNowak:
Bike test, Sept 1988, first time. Car test, Sept 1988, third time, failed for pulling out on a car at a junction (was miles away) failed second time at exactly the same junction on second test for waiting too long. (Only fault - FFS)
Class 2, Jun 2012, first time, 3 minors
Class 1, Oct 2012, first time, 4 minors
Was going to do my bus test, just so I’d got a full set, but really can’t be bothered with another theory and practical test.
Got my reach and counterbalance FLT licences too, but they’ve expired now.
Bloody good job I enjoy driving
As you already have D1 101 on your licence then you will not need to do the initial PCV dcpc because of a change in August allowing the D1 101 to be acquired rights for PCV dcpc
The dcpc hours or DQC you already have for LGV will count for PCV but if passing PCV test without a current DQC then you will need to get that DQC before being able to drive PCVs commercially
The daft thing is that although your LGV HPT is probably still within 2 years you will have to do another identical one for PCV
The theory is slightly different but ask if a conversion theory is possible
MEDICAL - hmmm… if you already have D provisional on paper part then you are covered but if not then you will need a new medical for PCV unless within a few months of doing your last LGV D4 one
If a D4 LGV medical is due then use form D2 at the same time for a D provisional = no extra cost
alamcculloch:
Some large firms advertise rates UP TO £11.00 per hour.The catch is that you start on a lower rate and when you gain seniority they get rid of you and start the whole process again.
Olog Hai:
Bear in mind for that £11 per hour you will more than likely be carrying your share of 70+ school kids; doing the last bus from town on a Friday or Saturday night; dealing with endless stupid questions - such as being asked where you’re going even though it says exactly that on the front of the bus - and encountering no end of smart-arses.
The other thing is the vehicles themselves… it is not particularly unusual for bus operators to run their kit for 15 or more years. With four or five drivers a day, every day over that period you can imagine what kind of states some buses are in.
+1
If you are lucky enough to start your shifts in the garage rather than change over on the street, be ready to drive in anorak, hat and gloves for at least one hour if heating is in working condition. Another story is a passengers. Driving is the easiest part of the role. If you are the calmest person ever, go ahead!
.
Mario
The only good thing about bus driving is no hand ball I did mine years ago for fun I was friendly with a local operator and he gave me the use of one of his busses to train and do the test and now having completed my CPC it covers bus driving as well
nearly there:
I did service work in glasgow and hated every single day,without fail.the public are at best annoying.you got given spit kits and they liked to grog at you.i wouldnt want my worst enemy do it.avoid like it like the fat bird at closing time
Fat birds are always grateful though
And buy them a kebab and they’ll let you do the full Alf Roberts
Chances are you’ll get a bacon buttie in the morning too, if your stomach wasn’t too turned the night before
I have my class 1 pcv licence and worked for Arriva for 23 years the first 17 years as a driver, I hated the last 5 years of driving with a passion. We had a saying at the time, the difference between a bin lorry and a bus is the ■■■■■■ gets thrown into a bin lorry… All that said my mate who is a manager called me the other day offering me a job for just under £11 an hour on the buses again but I think I have done my time there lol
I did bus driving years ago and I’ve got to say I have some fantastic memories of it! All the stories about the women are true, if your into that kind of thing, I’ve been in fights, someone pulled a gun and asked for my money. I gave them £7 as that’s all I had, he laughed and said, ‘only joking drive’ and got off. Didn’t do too well for my Calvin’s
Overall I loved it till it got on my nerves, most of the people are brilliant.
Ran over a dog having a crap in the gutter while it was on a lead
It’s shift work, I do earlies, then middles, then lates. Earliest start is 5amish, latest finish is 0100.
Drivers that have been doing for 5+ years get good money, but I quit one company and went to another, so had to start on ‘new boy’ money.
£10.64 ph, mon-fri, £11.06 sat + sun.
I get a long weekend off every 4 weeks, thur/fri/sat/sun, which is good.
Plenty of rest day working if you want it.
The negitives, working with the public, they ask and do stooooopid things everyday, you have to try and ignore it.
Working for a big company= your just a number, and your replacement is cheaper than you.
But, if you want to get your nut down, you can work your way up, my current manager used to be a driver, he’s now on £40000 mon-fri.
I’ve never done PCV work, but I have done PSV, driving a Public Service Vehicle. I have an All-Types Licence, passed in a PD2 many moons ago, and the job is not a patch on what it was. You’re not just timed now, you are GPS timed, and disciplined if you fall outside your timings. You are watched by every camera you can think of . . . and people you wouldn’t think of. (Someone sat at the back of the bus watching your every move, your every attitude). But there is one part of the job that is the same now as it always has been - first and foremost you are wrong. Doesn’t matter what has happened or what you have done it is assumed you are wrong and work from there.
Even after all these years, and the fact I’m bored to tears with lorry driving, I would not go back to it even though I’ve been asked on more than a few occasions. Working with Joe Public with no back-up at all - no thanks!
but I have to say the thought or putting up with all the hassle of moving people around does not fill me with enthusiasm.
