Are you looking to become a bus driver in the UK? While being a bus driver can lead to a rewarding and exciting career, there are several obstacles in your way that you must get past before you reach the desired level. Driving a bus is much more difficult that that of a car, so laws and appropriate training schemes are in place to ensure the driver can handle the role sufficiently.
Maghull Coaches have provided a summary of what it takes for drivers to become fully trained and qualified in operating large commercial vehicles such as buses.
What Are the Benefits?
There are several benefits that making driving a bus an exciting and appealing proposition. First of all, if you enjoy long drives, then there’s not exactly a better job available that will satisfy this type of interest. Likewise, it’s an opportunity to work remotely rather than sitting behind an office desk all day. If you work in a commercial role, then you will also have the opportunity to socialise with a range of people on a daily basis. Driving hundreds of people to and from destinations everyday safely and efficiently comes with huge responsibility, a fantastic benefit for the type of people who crave the rewards this delivers.
What Does the Role Involve?
So, to be bluntly, being a bus driver involves driving a bus! But the tasks you are involved in far exceed that basic level of description. It is a varied role and your tasks may also differ depending on the type of job you have. For instance, public bus drivers will be required to handle money, process ticket fares, and provide direction advice for passengers when requested. A bus hire, however, will usually involve all passengers going to the same location and ticket purchases and checks may be dealt with elsewhere. Other tasks may also involve helping with luggage, cleaning the vehicle and reporting any incidents where required.
What Skills and Qualifications Do You Need?
Driving a bus involves a lot of responsibility in ensuring the safety of passengers and other road users, which means you must achieve certain skills and qualifications to be deemed capable. It should come as no surprise that you must have excellent driving skills as well as awareness of the local area. It’s advantageous to have experience in a customer-facing role and you must be able to cope well under pressure and engage with customers in a calm and positive manner. Buses are clearly much larger than your normal car which means it can be more challenging to drive, especially on narrow roads and when turning. As well as a full driver’s license, you will be required to complete several training courses. In the UK, it’s a requirement that all drivers hold a valid PCV and CPC license.
If you are based in the Merseyside area and looking for a job in the Merseyside area, Maghull Coaches are currently hiring for several Liverpool driving jobs.
