I last drove a bus in early 2021 when Arriva went on strike, and then proceeded to close my depot later that year.
My experience so far has been a tough one. I consider my myself a fairly good driver, I’m not perfect and I’ve learnt that, A) I should have gone straight to class 1. B) Truck driving can be challenging but also very rewarding.
When I first started on class 2 I cockily thought I’d be ok because I had driven large buses and was very good at it. How wrong I was. Jumping straight into a 26 tonner with rear steering brings a whole set of new challenges, but I persevered and now I can reverse manoeuvre these things with ease into some very tight spaces. I have had a couple of minor scrapes but that’s another story… 
…fast forward to today, I’ve worked for DHL/Nisa, Bargain Booze/Bestway, and finally got a full time permanent job at C&C Group more commonly known as Matthew Clark (drinks logistics) where I lasted 6 months…this company deserves a thread all of its own which I will post here because I want people to AVOID them like the plague.
So anyway, sorry for rambling, I’m now going back to work in Manchester for GoNorthWest, a job I know well. I don’t think it’s the end of the road for wagon driving, but trying to find a company that doesn’t treat you like sh*t or put the fear of god into you isn’t easy.
Anyone else feel the same?
Would the DHL/Nisa be at Bury, what is now DHL /Morrisons by any chance. There’s a thread on that further down if it is.
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i was in Farnworth,Bolton area 3 weeks ago,alongside me was a bus with an advert on the back…‘become a bus driver and earn up to £27,500 a year’ 
I expect Matthew Clark was mostly hand ball down to the cellars of pubs, restaurants and hotels with a surly chef not helping out and says the regular driver always does it.
The 26 tonner with silly rear overhang and steering tag now seems to be the default choice of the worst type of local multi drop mob.Can take more drops of course which means more prizes… for the boss…
While as always the good old 8 wheeler probably means the best chance for any quality class 2 work on offer.
Also recently saw a firm which seems to be specialising in moving empty 20ft containers with nothing more than a common 4 wheeler rigid. If I ever go back to driving trucks that job would be at the top of my cold calling list.
carryfast-yeti:
i was in Farnworth,Bolton area 3 weeks ago,alongside me was a bus with an advert on the back…‘become a bus driver and earn up to £27,500 a year’
Bus drivers seem to be either very good ( usually older heading for retirement ).
Or crap in which it’s obvious that judgement of width just isn’t and never was part of their skill set.
In terms of decent class 2 work that wouldn’t drive you completely mad, maybe a bread or milk run.
If you go for your class 1, it may not be a bed of roses either by the way. Getting home at a predictable time is the elusive holy grail that most fail to consistently achieve.
With the supply chain companies like DHL, XPO, you have to remember that they are trying to make money out of transport, so the timings will be tight and in my experience the vehicles are kept at bare minimum level in order to complete the contract. It drives you mad, with a 10-12 hour day ahead of you, sitting there waiting on a unit before you even start.
In my experience this type of supply chain company think little about driver retention, more a case of ‘if these guys won’t do what we want, we’ll just get some others to replace them’. Mind you a lot will depend on local management, so not every location will be that bad.
I’ve worked on a few different 2-man contracts and the best of the bunch was DHL Argos, where quite often drivers were paired for home deliveries. Not so bad then, because you can share the driving and the other guy knows the score with the driving. I’ve had some good days out driving around scenic routes and some of the most remote places you could imagine. On the whole people are normally quite happy to receive their home delivery too.
After a 10 year gap I’ve returned to driving RCV’s…bin lorries.
For me personally, at the tail end of my working life I don’t really know why I didn’t return sooner.
The hours are the best thing, 37 hours job and knock which means a 6.00am start sees a finish time of 1 o clock approx (thats usually the latest) which includes a 30 minute break. Monday to Friday working, no late finishes and much better hourly rate than anything else I’ve done in the last 10 years… by a substantial margain.
Ok, its a little monotonous, the crew of loaders can make or break the round and the do’s and don’ts somewhat tiresome.
They do say never go back but I’m glad I personally did.
andy288*:
After a 10 year gap I’ve returned to driving RCV’s…bin lorries.
For me personally, at the tail end of my working life I don’t really know why I didn’t return sooner.
The hours are the best thing, 37 hours job and knock which means a 6.00am start sees a finish time of 1 o clock approx (thats usually the latest) which includes a 30 minute break. Monday to Friday working, no late finishes and much better hourly rate than anything else I’ve done in the last 10 years… by a substantial margain.
Ok, its a little monotonous, the crew of loaders can make or break the round and the do’s and don’ts somewhat tiresome.
They do say never go back but I’m glad I personally did.
I could not work a crew of loaders, unless I could fire them for
Smoking drugs
Being [zb]s
Or smoking
I. Could not work for the council. 