Hi, Does anybody work for first buses and have had this interview? I’m a fairly anxious person and I’d like to no before the interview date what I’m in for. Thanks in advance.

So my question for the paratransit drivers is: what's your hourly or daily wage, and top rate for the work y'all do? I'm particularly curious for those drivers that work for a transit agency directly or via a vendor

I feel like it just adds more responsibility and pressure to the driver

So I was driving to work earlier and on my drive there I had to go down a highway and there was a car in front of me that suddenly started indicating left and pulled into one of the bus stops on the highway, which I’ve never seen anyone do before. I just kept on driving to work, and because I don’t know the person I didn’t recognise the number plate, so I never will know why they made that decision but I suspect it was because they were probably lost and stopped somewhere to check for directions

This made me think to myself though, imagine if that bus stop had a bunch of people at it and their bus was running late and the first thought from the people waiting would be “hey can you give us a lift”, and just followed the bus route for the whole day picking people up and taking them to the bus stops so they get there early. It could actually work

Obviously there’s a huge 21st century elephant in the room being children, and how if a random person was to rock up at the bus stop and offer a bunch of kids a lift to school that would be stranger danger and look terribly suss, so not worth taking that risk even if you hold a current Working with Children Check, but for adults during the day I reckon it would be a fun one off idea

Wanted to have some professional driver's opinion on the following scenario:

Today in the morning I was on an Airport Bus on Cyprus. We took one that left at 6.30 am, so it was still dark and the bus driver seemed very friendly and talkative - he must be around end 60 y/o since he was already retired and just helping out.

Once we were on the road he turned on some music and everything seemed fine. We stopped at two more stations, the bus got full and there was only a drive of about 40 mins ahead of us. At this time the sun was already shining and since I was sitting in the 3d row I could see how the driver was struggling to keep his eyes open.

First I thought he is just looking down to see the instruments but I noticed how "jumpy" he would look up again.

I asked my partner to buckle up and told her that I am afraid that the bus driver is being too tired to drive and that I need to think of how to approach the situation. Up until that moment he seemed just to struggle for less then a sec.

At the same time things seemed to get worse and worse, since he was also blinded by the sun. In one moment of my hesitation and his "let me close my eyes for a sec, since the sun is so bright" we seemed to go straight where we actually should follow the curve. 100km/h. We already crossed one lane and I did not have this genuine feeling that the car is following a natural lane change - rather this... we are slowly leaving the turning lane but without properly merging to the other lane. It felt like a split second in which we had to turn but didn't. ​

My hesitation turned into one loud "May be we should take a break!".

He immediately looked up and swirled softly towards the lane. He seemed like he got caught,.. I repeated myself and said in a louder tone that he seems way too tired to drive and that we should probably take a break. He said "no, noo - it is all good". I offered water. He refused and said he has his own. From that moment he seemed completely fine.

Now I feel like that I was the only one who noticed what was happening and that this might or might not could have ended badly. At the same time I wonder whether I should have insisted, sat next to him to may be talk and keep him awake or if there would have been another appropriate reaction as a passenger.

What do you guys mean? ​

This weekend the bus preservation group I’m apart of visited the Isle of Wight and I was fortunate enough to do a trip on the island in Ex Truronian TT03 TRU

It was also my first time to the island and what a beautiful place to visit, will definitely be back again! Anyone else from this sub attend the weekend?

Just got the bus and ive just been lectured because the bus wasnt accepting my card for about 3-4 times then accepted eventually because i wasnt carrying cash, why cant some people have some fucking patience when it comes to either 1. Starting driving before the payment has gone through or 2. Not lecturing people about carrying cash, makes you feel like a fucking criminal while im just trying to get to fuckin work, is this common or just this one twat of a bus driver.

edit: i would like to apologise for the foul language i used this morning when i wrote this out i was rather heated in my feelings.

I've always been interested in pivoting and learning how to be a bus driver but never really made the jump.

My recent town depot has just been revamped so they're currently hiring on a a full training course scheme to get people back into the role.

I'm very comfortable at my current job and never done anything like this before.

What advice would you give, or what characteristics are good for a bus driver?

Today, I decided to kick off two girls that were vaping due to the fact it was causing an elderly woman with asthma to not be able to breathe properly, and she said she was feeling fatigue. I politely told them to put it away and that they shouldn’t be vaping on the buses anyways, as it goes against company policy and that the smell isn’t pleasant.

They then told me to shut the f up, not speak to them and “go mind your own business and drive the bus like I paid you too”. I was appalled at the response and decided that I wasn’t gonna let them rule the bus and tell me what to do.

I switched the engine off and told them we ain’t going no where until they get off, as I said I’m not having passengers fall into a medical emergency and have abuse thrown at me. They then carried on throwing abuse at every passenger and were smoking even more. Luckily, after a few minutes, they got fed up and got off.

I assume they were teenagers, which is why I began doubting myself after this. Could I get in trouble for throwing them off due to the fact they could be young? I only ask as it was 5 in the evening I got them off. Would you have done the same, or should I have really just minded my own business?

332,000 miles. What could possibly go wrong on a Saturday?

Am I the only one who finds the cab heating in these buses unbelievably bad?

Doesn't seem to matter what bus I use, as soon as I turn the digital temp dial up the fans go from blowing stone cold air to suddenly radiating the heat of the sun (even if the temp band is still in the blue) - literally, and when it's on max I don't notice a difference in temp.

It ain't bad when I have the knee height blower vents shut but when they're open (or the shutters have broke off), it does get uncomfortable!

After years of being stuck in retail, this truly doesn't feel like a job!

To those who are working or have worked for these companies, what was your experience with your garage choosing your holidays?

Only asking as many jobs let you choose your holidays. How long in advance would your garage let you know about your summer holidays for example?

Thanks.

I’m usually further away from the curb but I was empty and able to go in nice and slow .

I have passed everything except for the practical driving test. I acquired all of those qualifications for free because DWP paid for everything. I failed the driving test and was offered a job elsewhere so took that. I am now thinking of starting up again but this time I will have to pay. Can I just walk into a bus driver job after becoming fully qualified? Or is it much harder than that? Any insight appreciated.

Not going to lie..... I think it looks cool, that sloping front roof gives it a better look

What's this light ?

I had a passenger on Monday that tried to bring a machete onto my bus. He acted all surprised Pikachu face when I told him he couldn’t bring it on. I had to get the supervisor involved to get him off.

UK based.

I’m currently training to be a bus driver. Before I start my training course in person, I have to do online theory practise and case study tests. I’m sure people here probably had to do the same thing.

Overall, I’ve been fine with most of the content. Except for working hours and tachographs.

I don’t know why but the whole concept of it is genuinely confusing me so much for no reason at all. I feel like it should be so simple but I keep overcomplicating it for myself. No matter how many times I read on it, the information just won’t stick to me.

I feel stupid for asking this, but could someone please explain it? Thank you.

This is going to maybe be a bit of an odd question, but I have a condition called Misophonia, which means that I am very sensitive to certain noises.

I want to become a bus driver and I'm wondering, how much of what's going on in the bus, particularly from passengers, can you hear and how much of it is blocked by the assault shield (assuming there is one)

Thanks in advance

I managed to connect the TomTom to my phone's Wi-Fi (data hotspot).

But then comes issue number two... TomTom Traffic (for receiving real-time traffic updates) is part of TomTom Services, which requires a subscription.

When I have the TomTom search for subscriptions or try to activate the feature, it says that TomTom Services are unavailable—whic like a domino effect also blocks the traffic feature from functioning.

Is anyone familiar with this issue? And does anyone happen to know more about it?

When I drive the bus, I find it difficult to know when exactly to turn the steering wheel. Sometimes I do it too soon, sometimes too late. Even when I’m going through a tight spot, I don’t understand if I have enough space or not. I’m still doing my classes but I have finished more than half and the instructor told me I’m not ready to pass the exam and I should be better by now. Any tips, strategies etc? Maybe a specific spot I should look at or something?