Why are drivers paid what they are?

[talltim]

Oh....doesn't that work any more then?

Your cheeky local signaller been accepting your pints while secretly doing nothing...

 

[talltim]

I actually was a driver but I quit because the job was too easy. So now I work on an assembly line in a factory which requires a lot more skill as I have 4 different levers to pull instead of 2.

Things have moved on in the newer trains. They’ve combined the two levers into one!

 

[broadgage]

The wages paid to train drivers certainly sound generous, but in a free market economy, the employers have to pay what it takes in order to attract enough SUITABLE employees.
Despite the generous sounding wages, some TOCs are struggling to recruit drivers or to retain existing drivers.

 

[Ashley Hill]

That's certainly true for the freight companies. A job where your career is only as safe as your traffic. Plenty of freight drivers have crossed to the passenger side.

 

[O L Leigh]

Drivers have far less responsibility than they did years ago. Preparing a loco on passenger TOCs no longer means going around the loco checking the levels etc. That's the fitters job. On units they now perform the guards prep,doors toilets etc thereby reducing the guards responsibilities. They don't even fault find during failures. They call maintainance control for advice.

I’m afraid that’s not true at all TOCs.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

Whilst all around you are losing their heads, you must be a picture of calmness and sense in a crisis.
You must have the ability to concentrate 100% of the time when behind that control, you can't let your mind wander on the first service of the day at 4.30am or the last service at 1.30am and you can't make a mistake not even a miniscule error of judgement.
Its the same as an air traffic controller, or an airline pilot.
So much potential responsibility and equally at times very little to do.
If you have good health, can be 99.9% perfect 100% of the time and have a great memory. Apply here!
Many people will want to apply, many people will fall at a hurdle in the process resulting in only a very small trickle of quality staff making their way through the training programs and out the other side.

 

[Ashley Hill]

I’m afraid that’s not true at all TOCs.

Perhaps some TOCs are more enlightened. I can only comment on those I'm familiar with.

 

[bb21]

From the OP's interactions, I am not convinced this is a serious thread, therefore locked.
We have actually been through this topic before so anyone seriously interested in the answer should do a forum search and read through the results.