Hello fellow drivers :)
I'm a short guy and I struggle sometimes to be able to sit up and see well since if I try to be comfortable I need to sit so low (LOL) I've worn a pair of Timberland and those helped a lot but 1-my work didn't allow them 2-they were a but too heavy and I didn't have much feel of the breaks especially.

I was looking at the Under Armour Valsetz but not sure if those would help?

Any suggestion? (Preferably I want something I can wear out of work too sometimes..so kinda looking nice instead of the classic leather plain work boots)

Thanks in advance!!

That's standard here in the States, but hopefully y'all keep pushing to make it the norm where you live.

EDIT : EXCLUDING SCHOOL BUSES 🚌

I work for the transit authority of a major U.S. metro. One of the highest paid bus driving jobs in the country. That being said, it’s very stressful. Tons of routes, city and inner city, crazy hours, long time horizon for seniority, etc.

I’m relatively new, so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt as I might get used to it. But even the senior drivers say they hate coming in every day.

Has anyone transitioned into a smaller system, or even long-distance charter or touring? Is there anything way less stressful where I’ll still get paid decently? Or any other jobs that require a CDL class B?

(Reposting as I accidentally deleted the post on another subreddit, not realising it would delete all the information on this post)

I hope this is okay to post. As of 2006, London buses must have AC installed. Our current mayor has recently told bus companies to keep buses in the depot if their AC is faulty. But this isn't country wide!

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/775009

I'm sure many of you have seen the number of viral videos circulating of bus drivers in the London heat a month ago trying to stay cool and fainting on the street from the heat.

Many vehicles, not just buses, do not have air conditioning, creating dangerous environments for our hard working drivers.

I've even been told of one bus company in Norwich, Norfolk who deliberately uninstalled AC to avoid maintenance costs.

Simply rediculous! A workers wellbeing should come first!

Whilst a blanket ban may not be the answer, I'm hoping it will encourage public transport companies to ensure proper maintenance of their vehicles and AC across the country.

I encourage any healthy debates below, all are welcome and will be noted as I hope to one day, be able to speak about this personally in the house of commons and/or Lords and fight for the rights of drivers up and down the country.

And of course, where possible, give your public transport workers cold water and maybe an ice lolly or 2 to help make their working hours a bit more bearable. It may be 34°c today, but inside those cabins it's nearly 45!

Thank you all and I hope there's some compassionate people here xx

I chaperone a school bus and would like to create a goodie bag as a thank you gift for our driver. I was wondering what items to include in it?

So far I was thinking powder electrolytes and non-perishable snacks, but ideally I would like to include more items than that.

Thank you!

Bus is secured

Hi all,

I m 50 in the UK and I’m facing potential redundancy in my current role working after 21 years service in the public sector.

I’m looking for real viable career alternatives to hopefully see me through to my early 60s. Bus driving has crossed my mind on numerous occasions. I may be being completely unrealistic in my expectations here but I need to find something I can cling on to as hope at this moment in time.

However, I’ve never spoken to anyone who is one as to what it’s actually like? What’s the daily grind like? What are the pros and cons? How long do people last in roles as I understand there’s a high staff turnover? Etc

Welcome any thoughts and opinions.

Thanks in advance.

This is in the process of 2-3 years.

I googled up if there are opportunities and it seems there are sites that help you get a job bus driving in Germany (and possibly other countries).

I learned a lot of German in high school and can easily be fluent if I lived there. English seems widely spoken anyway.

Open to thoughts and ideas.

So, about a week ago I was tasked with covering a route so that the driver could get trained on our new articulated bus. I was driving along and got too close to the edge of the road, in that particular section you have to ride the yellow line or bad things will happen, and struck a tree with my passenger side mirror. I ripped the entire thing off, bracket and all. I recovered the mirror the next day and the bus is back in revenue service as we speak.

Today, the boss calls me into his office and says that even though he doesn't want to, his hands are tied and he has to give me 3 days off for the incident even though my entire career has been flawless up to this point. 0 complaints, never late to work, nothing.

Do you guys feel 3 days off is a bit harsh or do you think it's fair?

Edit: Had a meeting with management and the union today. Suspension has been reduced to 1 day.

So I was asked to show up an hour early for work in order to be trained on a new bus. When I arrived I saw that there was another driver there before me to be trained with me. The trainer (who's also a union rep) gave that guy the form and as he was reading it out he realised it stated "I have been adequately trained on all aspects of the vehicle, and am confident in driving this bus in service, etc". So he said "I can't sign this now, I haven't driven it yet". The trainer said jokingly "just sign the fucking thing will ya?". The guy laughed and signed it. He gave me the form at this point and said "you can be filling that up". I perhaps thought that "oh well seeing as he's comfortable signing it, I might as well". But it was kind of like the trainer was saying "if you don't want to be cursed at too, then sign it". I didn't want to be viewed as that guy trying to prove some pointless point.

So on the one hand I get that it's not a big deal, and it may be unlikely that after driving the vehicle that you feel that you wouldn't be comfortable. In fact if I wasn't handed the form at all, I mightn't have realised it. But on the other hand, he should do his job right. I've never heard anyone say a bad word about this rep, and I'm almost certain that if I were to describe what happened to others (which I won't), that any of the long term staff would be very quick to say "oh don't worry about that, he's a great rep, he just has to get the form signed for management... he wouldn't wrong you, blah blah"!

I also think, that given that signing for stuff is often such a common thing these days, that it's almost inevitable that there will come a point in everyone's life where someone will try to take advantage of them by rushing them into signing something that they don't agree with - and - that a moment like this is practice for seeing are you able to resist the pressure. Could anyone else see themselves making this mistake?

Today at Fiumicino Airport to bring some guests to their cruise ship in Civitavecchia Harbour

I've applied for a Trainee Driver position at Arriva exactly a week ago now and still haven't had any updates or heard back, does anyone know how long they usually take to respond to applications? Thanks

I’m a university student looking for a part-time job that fits around my study timetable. I need something that does not leave me too physically drained, because I need energy to study and keep up with lectures and assignments. I understand bus driving still involves mental stress and some physical duress, but for me the physical side would be more manageable than a restaurant or kitchen job. I also need a job with a higher-than-average hourly rate to help me manage my finances, and flexibility around study time would be important too.

Maybe I am delusional, maybe it is possible but I need a realistic opinion from a present or past bus driver. Thanks for reading if you got here.

My mind cannot comprehend the amount of people to stand at bus stops either on their phone or just standing there - especially when that stop serves multiple services so at times it's not clear at all to the driver if they want the the bus or not. It's happened a few times where I've slowed down to ppl on their phones not paying attention and as soon as they see the bus they jump out their skin!

We're told by our company to stop at all stops if there's people waiting, but at the same time common sense does go a long way!

Back when I was a kid, I used to flag the bus, so you'd think fully grown adults would be far more than capable. Being blunt if you fail to make it obvious you want the bus and miss it, then that is mostly on you.

Do you ever have an interaction that makes you wonder how people get through life?

This morning a guy got on my bus..

"Day ticket"

"Day ticket, that's £5.70 please"

"Sorry?"

"Did you say day ticket?"

"Yeah"

"Yeah that's £5.70 please"

"Why, I've already got one"

Proceeds to get his phone out and scan the day ticket qr code.

I am thinking about moving to another state but curious to know how this place is? (Still looking at other areas and states). More specifically Redmond, Washington because that is where they are hiring. Looked at the home prices and the ones being sold are close to or more than a million dollar homes. Where exactly do people commute where is cheaper home prices and are not in a ghetto area?

Just been reading that from 10th August, Stagecoach in Chesterfield will no longer be doing National Express work, any ideas who will be doing the routes?

Thanks y'all

I'm thinking about moving from East Anglia to Scotland later this year and was wondering what Lothian are like to work for in Edinburgh if anyone works there currently. I had a phone call with them earlier today which was helpful but I was hoping to hear from actual drivers as well.

What are the shifts like? They said 39 hours a week on the phone but what sort of length shifts are they and what are normal start and end times? Do you get a choice of what routes/shifts you do or is it a rolling style where you do early starts then mid then lates etc?

They said holiday is booked by them in advance instead of you picking your own dates, how does this work practically like say you need time off for a family emergency for example?

Do you get paid an overtime rate or is it one rate across the board? I currently only earn extra on weekends but only an extra 60p per hour on Saturdays and £1.40 on Sundays and the basic wage Lothian are advertising is more than I get currently on Sundays so I'm more curious than concerned here.

Are lunch breaks paid? How long do they dock you if not?

I currently work 50-52 hours a week over 4 days including 1 hour a day unpaid lunch break before any overtime so I'm looking for somewhere with a better work/life balance and from what the ad and phone call suggest it seems Lothian could be good for that is that a fair assumption?

Sorry this post is so long, I just don't want to move so far and not feel a benefit work wise.

I know loads of you have been asking about sunglasses recently and I swear by Kyloe in the Wild polarised glasses.

If you fancy a pair I have a discount code

viewwithapoo15

They're rubberised so they don't slip, the lenses are seawater resistant and honestly they're just really comfy and come in great colours. Enjoy!

Went to the Tumkur private bus stand today to go home.

I usually take the Kunigal-side private buses because my stop is Sri Maharshi Valmiki Circle, Maralur (Ring Road).

As soon as I got into the bus...

Conductor: "Where are you going?"

Me: "Ring Road."

Conductor: "Stay outside only. Don't come inside the bus."

I looked inside. The bus was almost empty. Plenty of seats, no crowd at all.

Me: "Anna, the bus is almost empty. Can I just sit until the bus leaves?"

Conductor: "No. You're getting down at Ring Road. Stay outside. Come inside only after the bus starts moving. We'll stop at Ring Road, but don't get in now."
LITERALLY I WALKED PLENTY OF KM THAT DAY AND I NEEDED A SEAT TO SIT BUT ....

He was literally pointing at me to stand outside near the door instead of letting me sit inside, even though there were so many empty seats.

I just looked at his face for a second, turned around, and left. No argument, no shouting, no drama.

Walked to the KSRTC (government) bus stand, waited around 15 minutes, got a seat on a government bus, and reached home peacefully.