Career change to bus driver - Kendal

[potentially]

Do you have any advice on what can I expect from the interview?

Congratulations on getting your interview. I've recently had a similar decision to make going from retail (not management) to PSV driving, it took 2.5 weeks for me to pass all the tests.

Hope its not too late to give this advice. The interview will most likely have a driving assessment so if you have the opportunity to drive anything larger than a car like a van or such, even hire one out for an hour or two that will massively help if you've never driven anything of the sort previously. Be constantly checking your mirrors and looking as far down the road as humanly possible. Everything else like smooth control inputs will come naturally.

There is a YouTube channel with some fantastic videos on bus driving advice run by an instructor in London which I would highly recommend if that's your way of learning.

https://youtube.com/@DrivingPsychology?si=yVYEcdbrboPIt-_w

Good luck!

 

[philthetube]

Turn up smartly dressed, clean shaven or bearded, some managers may not appreciate stubble, wear shoes, not trainers.

If you are comfortable with it wear a suit, it may not matter to your interviewer but it will never do any harm.

Listen carefully to what you are asked and think before speaking.

Obviously leave the booze alone on the day before, some companies breathalyse at interview, or first day at work.

Good luck.

 

[Towers]

One thing that some operators are trying to sneak in to terms and conditions is that you sign on at one place, and off at another if (for example) you start from depot in the morning then hand over a bus at (for example) a town centre bus station, or vice versa on a later starting duty.

Traditionally, you would get paid for the travel time between depot and bus station, some operators are trying to change it to unpaid time. It can be no bad thing if you travel to / from depot either by public bus routes or a staff bus, but if you'veno choice but to drive and park there, it can add an unpaid chunk to your working day.

Jesus Christ are they really doing that now? No wonder the backside has fallen out of the industry with appalling nonsense like that; yikes

 

[driver9000]

It may be simply because Morecambe was privatised as part of the initial Ribble management buyout, while Kendal was privatised by the direct sale of CMS* to Stagecoach.
Later Morecambe was transferred by Stagecoach to Cumbria, allegedly because it was supposedly (according to rumour) the only profitable part of Ribble (at the time) and they wanted to sandbox it following the strikes which led to the disposal of the East Lancs operations. Morecambe drivers didn't strike, unlike most of the rest of Ribble. Also weren't some Morecambe drivers TUPEd* from both LCT* and Heysham Travel (the shortlived Merseybus operation in Morecambe) at the various takeovers?
It wouldn't surprise me if the differing histories resulted in different contracts which were simply too much trouble to harmonise.

==edit==
to clarify
CMS - Cumbria Motor Services
LCT - Lancaster City Transport
TUPE - TUPE stands for Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment rights

As has been explained Stagecoach liked to negotiate pay and conditions with each depot individually rather than as groups. I remember being sent on "loan" to other depots and if the pay was higher I got their rate of pay for the time I was there but if it was lower I kept my own rate of pay.

The Lancaster and Morecambe depots were transferred to the Cumberland licence in the mid 1990s when Stagecoach Ribble got into bother with the traffic commissioner over maintenance and had their licence reduced. This is also when they created the Stagecoach Lancaster local name (without any announcement or fanfare) and was long before the company sold off the East Lancashire depots to Blazefield.

No Drivers were transferred into Stagecoach from LCT when the company ceased trading in 1993 although Stagecoach allowed them to apply for jobs. I'm not sure if Heysham Travel staff transferred under TUPE or signed new contracts but there were definitely ex MTL staff taken on when Stagecoach bought them out in 2000.

One thing that some operators are trying to sneak in to terms and conditions is that you sign on at one place, and off at another if (for example) you start from depot in the morning then hand over a bus at (for example) a town centre bus station, or vice versa on a later starting duty.

Traditionally, you would get paid for the travel time between depot and bus station, some operators are trying to change it to unpaid time. It can be no bad thing if you travel to / from depot either by public bus routes or a staff bus, but if you'veno choice but to drive and park there, it can add an unpaid chunk to your working day.

I've no idea if that might be the case here.

That's not the case at Lancaster. Regular staff shuttle buses run between the White Lund depot and Lancaster bus station with all Drivers starting and finishing at White Lund (except those allocated to the Garstang outstation).

 

[alimckay1]

Thank you everyone for all your advice it was really helpful. I have now been offered a place as a trainee driver, subject to passing the medical at the end of the month. I will then get a start date.

The interview comprised of a very basic maths test and a highway code test, followed by an interview with the operations manager. There was no driving assessment.

Looking forward to getting started and learning the ropes.

A

 

[jpaul81]

Thank you everyone for all your advice it was really helpful. I have now been offered a place as a trainee driver, subject to passing the medical at the end of the month. I will then get a start date.

The interview comprised of a very basic maths test and a highway code test, followed by an interview with the operations manager. There was no driving assessment.

Looking forward to getting started and learning the ropes.

A

Congrats, its not a bad job once you get on top of it.

Just one word of advice, make sure you start revising all the theory/ CPC stuff as soon as you can.
Its quite a lot to take in, especially all the stuff about driving hours regulations.
They usually want the theory stuff done and dusted in the first week and you'll struggle if you turn up unprepared.
I remember during my training one or two candidates were eventually 'let go', although they'll usually give you a couple attempts at each module.

 

[Titfield]

Thank you everyone for all your advice it was really helpful. I have now been offered a place as a trainee driver, subject to passing the medical at the end of the month. I will then get a start date.

The interview comprised of a very basic maths test and a highway code test, followed by an interview with the operations manager. There was no driving assessment.

Looking forward to getting started and learning the ropes.

A

Good Luck!

 

[alimckay1]

Congrats, its not a bad job once you get on top of it.

Just one word of advice, make sure you start revising all the theory/ CPC stuff as soon as you can.
Its quite a lot to take in, especially all the stuff about driving hours regulations.
They usually want the theory stuff done and dusted in the first week and you'll struggle if you turn up unprepared.
I remember during my training one or two candidates were eventually 'let go', although they'll usually give you a couple attempts at each module.

Thanks for the advice. I have already started practicing the theory test using the mock tests available on the DVLA website. I was also told they will send me a link to help with the theory test.

Do you have any advice on some other resources I should use to revise?

Thanks

A

 

[GusB]

A number of posts have been removed because they're completely unrelated to the situation at hand. If anyone has information that would help the OP with their queries, by all means feel free to offer advice. Otherwise, please use a separate thread. Thanks!

 

[jpaul81]

Thanks for the advice. I have already started practicing the theory test using the mock tests available on the DVLA website. I was also told they will send me a link to help with the theory test.

Do you have any advice on some other resources I should use to revise?

Thanks

A

Yeah they’ll give you a link an online site… the one i used also had a companion app for quickfire revision which i found useful.

The official DVSA books are also worth getting

The Official DVSA Guide to Driving Buses and Coaches (PCV) Book

Fully Revised for 2023/2004 Whether you’re a learner, an experienced PCV driver or an instructor, this book has something for you. It’s packed full of expert advice designed to improve your skills and keep everyone safe on today’s increasingly crowded roads.This new editon contains sectons on...

www.dvsabooks.com

I also found this video quite informative for the driving side

Forward planning and reading the road is far more important for bus driving than normal driving.
For example if you break too late or take a corner too quick you could potentially harm passengers. You can’t make snap decisions as you would in a car

 

[Roger1973]

Thank you everyone for all your advice it was really helpful. I have now been offered a place as a trainee driver, subject to passing the medical at the end of the month. I will then get a start date.

Well done - hope all goes well.

 

[Eyersey468]

Thank you everyone for all your advice it was really helpful. I have now been offered a place as a trainee driver, subject to passing the medical at the end of the month. I will then get a start date.

The interview comprised of a very basic maths test and a highway code test, followed by an interview with the operations manager. There was no driving assessment.

Looking forward to getting started and learning the ropes.

A

Congratulations, I hope your new career goes well

 

[Geordie driver]

Thanks for the advice. I have already started practicing the theory test using the mock tests available on the DVLA website. I was also told they will send me a link to help with the theory test.

Do you have any advice on some other resources I should use to revise?

Thanks

A

If I could give some advice, don't over think it.

The training gets you ready to go on the road, hopefully the company still has mentors for the first few days, we used to get one for a week.

The first couple of weeks on your own are tough, there is so much to take in and it seems to all come at once, the driving bit is the easy bit.

After a couple of weeks ( for me anyway) it all clicks into place and you can relax.

Let us know how you get on and come back in a few months time, I would be interested to see if it's the job you expected.

Cheers and good luck.