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Ive always had an intrest in buses, and am looking to do the PCV, test and training, just how hard is the training, and what are the job prospects like ,working either full or part time,having trained independantly of the larger bus groups, eg Arriva, Stagecoach, or First.
Finally what are the costs involved, and can anyone recomend a training providor in the Cheshire area/North Wales.
Ding ding.
[url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/Official-Guide-Driving-Buses-Coaches/dp/0115529004/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318417915&sr=8-1 ]clicky to start[/url]
HGV £1200'ish for week long intensive course. bus would be about the same I'd imagine.
My friend did his PCV with First Bus in Glasgow. They pay for it and you pay it back out your salary over your first year of employment.
Used to be that the wages seemed quite fair to me but looking on the back of buses now where they advertise for new drivers, it seems like the pay has dropped by about £1 per hour, or stayed the same, over the past 5 or 6 years i.e. about £8.50 per hour up here
p.s. i'm sure it was around £9.50 a few years ago????
Big but slimmer, book on order already, thanks,
With the big companies, you have to work shifts for them on stage carrige work, eg selling tiockets, and if you leave, they want the training money back whjich is quite fair.
always liked the thought of it myself but, to be honest, driving the 3am Saturday bus from George Square probably ain't all it's cracked up to be lol!
Driving the blue-rinse brigade around North Wales and the Peaks and Dales would be a good gig I imagine, not much kicking off on those runs although maybe they pish themselves quite a lot?
Do you have a large gut and a propensity for cutting up cyclists?
If not I fear you may be under-qualified. 😀
Whens the next bus due.
Bump.
The good news is there are a few things you can practice with the car.
1. Pass all cyclist with as little room as possible.
2. As soon as you pass the cyclist, slam on the brakes and wait (to simuluate dropping off and picking up passengers).
3. Try as many manouvres as possible without indicating.
4. Sit behind a cyclist on narrow twisty roads revving the engine and changing gear as much as possible.
If you can do all this while wearing a short sleeved shirt, tie and gold rimmed, polariod sunglasses, all the better.
DS, sadly ive never done any of those, and dont have any experience of any bus or coach drivers doing the same.
Tickets please, or any more info
looking at the vacancies ads your looking at 7 -8 ph with min two years experience and that will no doubt be your stumbling block..
i looked into this as a change from sales as I'm sick of being the first bastard out the door when things go wrong. My ex's brother drives a this exact £300K coach :
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It's got poker table in the back. leather seats, TV's, satellite and wi-fi etc. He'll never drive a better vehicle. He works 6 days a week, away every night and put up in cheap hotels and even has to pay for his own food every night. He ferries premiership footballers and air cabin crew around, away from home most of the week and more often than enough when he gets back to base at 3am he then has to clean the coach inside and out. He doesn't even earn £19k
I looked into getting HGV license and most agencies won't entertain you without 200hrs per six months experience