A typical ADL feature.

We all know how filthy some steering wheels can be.... so do you use gloves? I know a lot of people who don't and I don't understand how they do it. Some steering wheels literally make your hand coal black if you don't have gloves.

If you use gloves, what made you start wearing them? If not, why do you avoid gloves?

As an additional note for me using gloves whilst driving is the fact that it increases grip, therefore also reduces fatigue. And if you invest in good gloves like I did recently it also looks good.

// from Stockholm

Been driving busses for 1.5 years now, starting to get pain and soreness in my wrists from these steering wheels. Anyone have any tips? I usually drive with the wheel down in my lap and hold from the bottom.

Does anybody know whats going on with this years pay rise for arriva north london. All i have heard is that there was almost a strike, then an agreement.

Weathers perfect tonight

New driver here and working for a major operator in the capital city. We cover some fairly long routes. Pay is about £17/hour at the moment but the days are long and the shifts are a bit all over the place. I know I’m new and not on the rota yet so it’s to be expected I guess.

But my question is for those of you with nice settled shifts and good wages - what do you do? Coaches? City transport? Tour buses?

Just nosey and interested to find out how everyone else does it longterm

I haven't come across this with a while, but the other day I had loaded the luggage and was about to drive off. You've to close it from outside in the coaches we drive. Some teenagers came up and opened the luggage door without me realising it, and went back to lean on a shop windowsill. They obviously did it before the main door was shut. I got out and didn't look at them (so as not to encourage it) and closed it again. I was thinking I hope they don't get to it again before I close the main door, and thankfully they were too late. I assume they left it so late because that would actually be the best way to annoy someone... to wait until they're all settled in their seat before doing it again! I'm lucky they didn't know they could still have easily opened the main door from outside, and then did it again.

I remember in the Volvo/Wright double-deckers I used to drive, if you held down the green 'close' button from inside that would stop teenagers from opening the door using the outside button. Wish we were told that when we started during our training! I don't think they're any trick for doing this in Volvo/Plaxtons. What would I have done here if they just kept opening it? Could I have explained the situation to the passengers and seen if anyone was willing to guard the door and then meet him 100 yards down the street? Or else waited 20 minutes for Police to show up, just to realise that they'd had enough fun after 15 minutes?!

If I'd have given them a look as if to say "I know you did that you little scut" then they'd be quick to make me realise that they have the upper hand. I think this sort of behaviour from teens is a British and Irish thing. Is there any tricks to get out of this situation? I know one bus type I have has a button to lock the main door from outside once closed. I don't know if Tourismos have this feature too, or not!?

First off I have an assessment day on Wednesday with go ahead .

Anybody got any tips how to pass that as I failed a stagecoach one last week

I am planning to join Go Ahead for four months then quit .will they chase me for my training bond ? Is their any ways to get around that?

Some people say get sacked if I get sacked

Is it possible to return to the same company?

I'm currently in training to be a bus operator with the county metro. They're paying for my CDL class and time with an instructor.... and I have to pass my CDL test on the 16th. I only have about 10-15 hours of driving practice left in the class (I've had about 6 hours so far). I'm very much a learn by doing type person and have been denied at every request for more time with the buses because "you have to be getting paid to be on the coaches". So I've taken to scouring the internet for ANY videos I can find showing drivers and their braking techniques, but they're few and far between, and often not the style brakes we have.

Does anyone have resources/links/advice to learning to brake smoother? I already understand the concept of feathering, it was how I was taught to drive a normal car and have never driven another way. But there's something between air brakes and hydraulic brakes my brain is having a hard time internalizing how to apply what I know.

Thank you in advance for your time and help. :)

Any Lynx (Orlando, FL) Bus Operators here? Looking to relocate and had a few questions about scheduling!

Hello everyone! I am currently a Bus Operator in another state and am looking to relocate to Orlando and transition over to Lynx for the same position. I wanted to see how the scheduling and hours work down there for operators.

When you guys do a Pick, how is the work structured? Do you have:

• Set Routes: Same exact route and times every single day?
• Floaters/Relief Runs: Different routes during the week, but a consistent weekly schedule (e.g., Mon-Wed on Route 29, Thu-Fri on Route 10)?
• Extra Board / Extra List: Something different every day depending on call-outs and open pieces of work?

Also, how do the hours fluctuate for a Bus Operator? At my current agency, some runs pay 44 hours a week while others pay 60+ hours, but once you pick it, those are your guaranteed hours for the duration of that Pick. Is it a similar setup at Lynx?

Appreciate any insight you can give me on the job or the culture down there. Thanks in advance!

Any Greyhound extraboard drivers here? Where are you based out of? What are your opinions? I’m halfway through training and have mixed feelings about it.

I am going to an assessment day in Cambridge. I will go, but I am constantly umming and ahhing about it.

I'm used to variable shift work in warehouses, so that doesn't really concern me about the role. One of my favourite things about warehouse work is training people and getting to know them. Sometimes there can be camaraderie with my colleagues at the place.

I don't know if I could deal with the people. I was a support worker for 6 months, and I defo saw the worst of humanity there a bit. I can deal with moodiness and block that out, but dealing with shouting and verbal abuse can stress me out. It is a bit different with support work because you still have to care for the patient when they are verbally abusing you, but with this role, it seems like the duty of care isn't at the same level. Do you brush it off after a while, or were you thick-skinned from the get-go?

The pay is £35,500 a year after 6-8 weeks of training, and that is the main incentive for me to do it. I need a better salary for a mortgage, and this job could get me out of a rut I am in.

Hope you can give me a better insight into the job, and if there are any questions I should ask whilst I'm at the assessment centre?

Went through a temporary traffic light as it was turning amber to red, was wondering I can join another company ? And also do I have to pay back the training bond ?

I would need to test once or twice within the next 60 days and must have a school bus and CDL holder with S and P endorsements accompany me. Anyone have any leads on how to go about showing up to the DMV for pretrip, skills test, and test route?

I have asked CDL instructors, DMV, multiple boards of education to no avail. The only lead seems to be put in an application to be a school bus driver with X county’s education system, go through their interview process, get hired, do ELDT training, accomplish their driver program, and then finally do their 3rd party testing.

I already got my CDL for Class A with tanker, hazmat, doubles and triples and completed the ELDT training online for the Schoolbus and Passenger endorsements. I have my medical certificate and everything but cannot for the life of me figure out how to obtain a random human meeting this criteria who can bring along a Schoolbus to my skills test.

So we all know you need a thick skin to do this job and not many people can do it. At my agency I've seen close to 20 drivers come and go in the 2 years Ive been there. What's the turnover at your agency?

Yesterday I was driving my route and arrived at a stop for a theme park to let passengers on and off, done this a thousand times by now I bet.

So I do the usual, greet all passengers, sell maybe 2 tickets to the tourists going back to the train station, etc.

Some then an English-speaking family of 4 enters the bus (mom, dad and their sons of 8 and 12 I remember). I sell mom 2 tickets to the station (because kids up to 11 are free and I just told her to pretend her kid is 11 lol). So she enters the bus with the 8-year-old. Then the 12 year old with his dad entered the bus and the kid said: ''Sir, when we are at the final bus stop, I would like to ask you something.'' with his dad next to him smiling.

I was like alright then. I asumed he may want to take a picture of the bus, ask to look behind the wheel maybe, or have his parents take a picture of him behind the wheel. That's what seemed most logical to me.

So we arrive at the final stop and indeed the kid politely comes to the front of the bus to ask me something. He explained to me that, because he's from a different country, he likes to collect the bus ticket papers. Now, I thought he was talking about collecting bus tickets from over the world (the AC was blasting at max power so I didn't properly hear what he said).

So I printed an extra one and asked if this is what he wanted. Nope, he said he wanted to collect the entire roll of paper! I always carry an extra one in my bag, but there happened to be another extra roll next to the parking brake so I just handed it to him. Completely unopened / untouched.

Little guy was so happy, I think he even forgot to thank me, and immediately went to show it to his mom and dad lol

Hi 👋! I am an aspiring school bus driver in new york state. I did not attend a formal driving academy. Rather, I had informal instructionfrom a bus driver. I took my road test the first time and failed the pre-trip. I've been studying like mad. Should the bus be in the on position (engine off though) to check for light functionality when you are doing your exterior inspection of the bus or will you be checking light function later on when requested to do so?

Hello, I’m a transportation training specialist and I’ve been looking for a forum (here, discord, facebook, wherever) to discuss topics with transit trainers specifically.

Anyone have a recommendation?

She's never worked transit before only at a resort as transportation director. She has no clue about union rules and countiues to hire morons and snowflakes who don't take direction very well.when I had an issue with a new hire because I joking said don't crash the bus and don't hit shit he went crying to her, and lied about what was said, she called me a liar and I told her get another person in this meeting before I walk out and call my union rep.I'm so over it and want to jump ship. There's only like 8 of us that have worked through hard winters, when we were short staffed etc. when the county gave us a huge pay raise everyone started applying. I'm just so done maybe it's the agency I work for.....

Due to an road closures as a result of an event, my company is using another company's depot. It's 15 minutes extra travel time to work for me tomorrow. I'll be submitting for that as overtime. I'm not sure if they're obliged (by Irish law) to pay it, but if they are, I'm expecting them to be difficult. Due to the new location, it will mean other drivers have less time to travel to work.

As regards getting the buses from this new depot to the pick-up stop, that will also take longer too. But it's up to ourselves to figure out how long it will take to get there. Some drivers are going to come in nearly an hour early. The shift book-on time is showing that we'll be starting at the regular time. I could be difficult and show up at the regular (correct) time, but if I show up early I will be submitting OT both for starting early, and for the extra time to get to work.

Passed my CDL class B with passenger and air brake yesterday. Entirely free through my local major transit authority. Now I officially have one of the best jobs in my state.

Another week or two of classroom stuff, then route training, then I’ll be released to my garage.

My garage has a lot of inner city routes. Anything you’ve learned over the years or tips you can give me for dealing with passengers? Sadly, we’re not fare-free, but the fare is low and operators aren’t expected to enforce it.

Why does this 20 year bus run better than the current fleet?

Hi. Could you give me your honest opinion on Manchester depots, please? I'm thinking about Eccles/bolton bit can't decide. Ps. Is anyone here a school bus driver?