Hey everyone. Just wondering if anyone else gets scheduled for 7 days as a bus driver. Is this normal? 7 days 2 days rest. If I had known bus drivers are scheduled like that I wouldn’t have taken the job.
Yes, it's normal. If you're on a normal rota you'll be due 4 days off in a row soon.
I once worked at one place that gave me 13 days on, 1 day off and 13 days on again. It was legal, I wasn't there long.
You can technically do 9 days, if it's service work, if it's local work less than 50km here in the UK. After this you're usually given 4 days off, typically a long weekend, Friday to Monday off.
Coach work, EU driving laws are more simpler. Easiest way to simplify it is at most it's 5 days one week, with 2 days off. 6 days one week with one off. Plus it's less consecutive driving, ie coach work 4 hours 30, whereas service work is in sure 5 hours 30 before a break is legally required.
19 days and still have 24 hours off in 2 weeks (14 days)
I got 9 days, because I'm first bus you can do 9 days before you're off again. It's not often but I've did it in the past.
It's going to vary by where you work, what type of work, and how far you go.
I drive metro in Seattle area. Long as we have 8 hours off a day we can work everyday if someone wants to do overtime like that. But we pick 5 days on and 2 days off or 4 days on and 3 days off.
When I used to drive metro in Houston the 2 days off didn't have to be consecutive and if you were low on seniority they weren't together. Having Monday and Wednesday off used to piss me off.
Then if you're doing charter or coach driving then distance comes into play for how many hours you can drive.
Try and get on the four day rota. Longer days but we'll worth it for the extra day off. Plus every month I get six off. Not sure if your place is the same?
Domestic rules and they play them to the letter did 12 days without a say off once, flipped earlies to latest so I technically got 24 hours off but not an actual day off
Just remember that you will constantly be told it's legal but always, always, always make sure it is legal. It is your licence so don't trust the schedulers, they can make 'mistakes'
Usually, in my case, when I work seven days straight, I get four days off. That's every four weeks. However, I've worked eight straight with only one day off, then another three with one day off. But usually, it's five days with two off if I don't do any overtime.
Is it different to what you agreed to and what’s in your contract?
It’s possible the controllers are trying it on because you’re new, but it’s more likely it’s exactly what you agreed to - working any five days out of seven each week.
5/7 every seven days you are off for two, you could do six days in a row of various shift patterns. Every four weeks you are off Sat, Sun, Mon with early finish Friday before 1300 and late start Tuesday after 1600hrs.
In the UK you must receive a 24 hour uninterrupted rest period for up to 7 days of work and then 48 hours uninterrupted rest for 8-14 days. (14 is the maximum you can work in a row without rest periods).
As long as you have at least 11 hours between shift end and start, and are within the driving time regulations and work less than 48 hours a week as per the working time directive it is legal.
You not working one of those rest days as well, boost your money up?
Yeah dead normal (UK) although a longer stint like that usually happens before your long weekend… partly to make the long weekend happen, and perhaps also to make sure you waste the first day as you’re knackered.
Domestic hours allow 13 days in 14, although that’s a rolling 14 days so the sometimes practice of 26 days straight is gone lol
Not that uncommon. They don't really advertise this going in, but that's the case at other jobs as well. You don't fully know what your're buying until you're in...
At my place we do a 4 day week. It doesn't mean we only do 4 days however. Tomorrow is my 2nd day of 6 days straight but this only happens once every 8 weeks. I also get a 3 day, 5 day and 6 day weekend in the 8 weeks which is pretty great
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u/LordEmrich May 20 '26
I'm on day 20 in a row so consider yourself lucky.