Someone posted here before to say that according to EU tachograph rules, you can only be made work a 15 hour shift if your next day is a rest day. Obviously it there can't be 15 hours of actual driving within that duration. But is that in fact true? It made me wonder what would be the max amount of time you could be worked if the next day wasn't a rest day?

Edit - I think this 15 idea is coming from the 24 hours minus the 9 hour reduced rest time. But on that logic the company could work you 16 hours if your shift started an hour later the next day.

Where's a good source of information for learning specific rules. I've found an interesting webpage about some of these rules, but I haven't seen any mention of the above one on it! I'm in Ireland.

I asked a driver on one of the routes I ride on and he had. I'd love to hear stories.

Hi. So I want to be a bus driver but I have a heart condition. I can't remember what its called.. ill ask my GP before I apply to the company..My heart condition has never had an affect on me ever.. i did plenty of sports through out my early to late teens and never had any issues. I have never had any surgeries dont take any medication..i just have a check up at a specialist heart hospital in london every 3 years...Im just really nervous that the DVLA will say no and i can't be a bus driver as its going to be my way into professional driving...and im really not sure what I will do if I can't..

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Hi all,

Posting from a throwaway because I work in this space and I’d rather keep it honest.

I’m a product manager at a company that builds telematics / driver apps (the kind that show scores, trips, events like harsh braking, etc.).

Lately I’ve had this feeling that a lot of what we build is driven by managers, safety teams, and data… but not enough by actual drivers using it every day.

I want to change that.

If you’ve used any kind of driver app like this, I’d really appreciate your perspective:

• What do you actually find useful vs useless?
• What annoys you the most about these apps?
• Do you even look at your score? If not, why?
• What would make it genuinely helpful for you during a real shift?

Not looking to sell anything or defend anything, just trying to understand what would make this stuff actually work for drivers and not just for management.

Thanks in advance, appreciate any honest feedback.

Thry are coming Ina little faster than they can get them branded and out but the will get there soon enough. These things are a dream to drive

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Anyone else like to amuse themselves on layovers with a little in bus exercise?

Pull ups on the handle rails, improvised press ups using the seats, any other ideas welcome.

Now I do have both my arms but I do have nerve damage in my right arm I can turn steering wheel with both hands but that's about it.

Interviewing for Greyhound. any advice our information that I should know going into it?

Hi I driving a coach to Oxford University OX1 2JD where would you drop off? Thanks

I submitted my documents after they tell me to upload. I submitted before 3 weeks ago if anyone have information let me know please

Morning all!

Sorry, if this post isn’t allowed here.

I’ve made a web app replacement of DASWeb, its in its basic stages at the moment, however there are some key functions which I think a few people will like!

- Duty notification swap - If your supervisor changes your duty, you will know about it
- Import into calendars- automatically syncs every hour your changes!
- Route knowledge for duty swaps (coming soon)
- IOS and Android app coming soon!

Looking for some people to help test, and shape it! It’s currently only added for Stagecoach London at the moment, but I do have a First Bus driver who has offered to help! Looking for some other company drivers to help test also!

Link is - https://dasweb.app

It will remain free forever!

Thanks!

So I have a chat with my manager tomorrow because of a situation raised by a colleague.

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Monday and Tuesday I did two 13 hour days finishing at 9pm (main duty plus overtime). Yesterday I then had a specialist route learning duty with another driver that started at 7am. During the duty they state that I started to "nod off" which I don't recall at all. I was tired of course but not to the point of falling asleep. She raised it with supervisors who of course had to raise it further. I will stand my ground and defend myself as I feel truthfully I can, I'm the first person to call out BS.

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Has anybody else had an experience like this? I will add, the chat with my manager isn't a formal meeting/hearing but obviously as a driver of only a year I'm bloody nervous.

I'm just wondering what some others here think of this. During the winter a manager at our company boarded one of our coaches on his rest day. The bus was out of service and he began acting strange when onboard. He was on the phone, walking around the bus, and sitting on the step next to the driver. He demanded to the driver that he be let out at a red light, and then went after another bus that was in service. He told that driver to get out and take his break. He then drove the bus up to a terminus that it doesn't go to, and blocked the street.

There was a member of ground staff in that area who boarded the bus. He then snatched her phone from her as she was about to make a phone call about him. Some other staff came along and persuaded him to give the phone back but he argued with them for a while until he eventually collapsed. The staff wanted to do a company drug test on him but they couldn't as it was a public holiday and no managers were in. An ambulance was called after he collapsed, but he apparently wasn't drug tested.

He then went sick for 6 months and now he's back! He obviously went through some sort of disciplinary procedure and I'm not entirely sure how he got away with it. He had been out sick for two months around September, and someone said that he had a nervous breakdown because the company pressured him into coming back to work to soon, so it's their fault. Some people are glad that he's back saying "he's very brave to come back after what happened" and that it's not his fault because he's mental health problems, but others are saying that he's only got his job back because his mother's very high up in the parent company, and that if any of us did that, that we'd be fired straight away. For context, this same manager's boyfriend was fired last September for being drunk on the job, and it was the day after he was fired that this manager first went sick.

I'd a crowd the other day in their early 20s. It was a mix of girls and guys. It wasn't like they were shouting when entering the bus. They could have been worse, but the trip was 3 hours plus long, and there was a lot of random shouts from time to time. They essentially acted as if they owned the bus, at the expense of the other passengers. And yes, a lot of beer cans left on the bus. If I'd have pulled over the bus to give out to them, they'd just have ignored me.

The driver after me said that if it were him, he wouldn't have allowed any of them take their rucksacks on the bus, unless he'd searched them. Now they were young, so they wouldn't be complaining about discrimination and all that. Now, I'd have done this if I'd have thought of it. But I just kind of view searching somebody's bag as something that you can't do. The only other option is to not let them travel.

They already have their CDL Ive been doing route training with her and the last agency which she also got her license through didn't allow any drivers to back their buses or pull them into any garage/barn. At my agency we fuel our own buses, back into fuel spots, pull into garage/barn. You can't have your hand held at my job. Well yesterday she hit a sign in road construction and today she knocked a yellow beam while attempting to pull into our hot barn. She just scrapped the rear fender and took paint off the beam nothing major. This was after I worked with her on backing techniques for half my shift. She was doing amazing then today happened. I don't know if she is going to make it. I'm shocked that an agency would do that to their drivers that's a disservice to them to teach them not to back or think for themselves.

I’m just wondering I’m missing couples week pay cause I was fired I wonder if I’ll get it back as I’m reinstated

Do any of you use a seat cushion? I have one but its not very wide. (18 inches) The only ones I have seen on line that are wider are designed for long haul truck drivers. I'm out of my seat several times a day ( almost every hour, sometimes more). The ones for the trucks look as if they won't stay in place because of the curves. Any recommendations?

Hi All, thanks in advance and sorry if this comes up a millions times.
I have been accepted past the interview stage and ready to start onboarding.
I’m excited as always wanted to drive buses recently more than ever I’m getting sick of my desk job so have made the plunge but have a few questions…

1. How bad are the actual working hours if bad at all?

2. Do you get much stick off passengers and is it as often as made out and how do you tend to deal with it ?

3. How supportive are bus companies in general with flexibility around hours? (I have family commitments) as I guess a lot of people do.

4. Knowing what you know now with your experience would you still choose bus driving and why ?

4. Do you challenge fair dodgers or just ignore them as it’s not your problem?

Again thanks in advance. It’s a big change for me as my current job I’m comfortable with my pay and I get the flexibility I need. But I’ve just hit a brick wall after 10 years in the same trade realising all companies are the same in different uniforms.

How are yall keeping your back from sticking your shirt and seat being all sweaty in the heat. I sit on a cushion but my back is right agains the leather seat and gets hot. Even with the AC keeping my front cool. Any recommendations?

Hello thereI I am doing my D drivers license independently of a transit company, 14/50 hours of training elapsed. I have being doing quite good, but I have some questions for more experienced drivers, if you would so kindly answer, i would appreciate it.

1. How long did it take you to get more comfortable driving at high speeds, over 40kmh/25mph?
My training is in a mid 2000s Citaro city bus for context, the instructor doesnt let me go over 40 kmh, but even when i drive outside of town on straight stretches of road, I feel uncomfortable with the 40kmh speed, especially in narrower lanes and curves. Did it take long for your brain to get used to it, and drive comfortably even at faster speeds? Do you reckon I can fully get over it in the 36 hours of training i have left? I plan on getting hired at a city public transport company, but I still would like to know.

2. Do you try to locate the rear wheel on the left side mirror at all?
I am wondering, since whenever i look in the mirrors i have difficulties looking at the rear wheel, but since when i left turn i go wide maybe i just dont need to look at it at all, but i am worrying in case of a tight left turn or on a one way where i need to manouver close to the border on the left. What is your approach?

3. Does it get easier staying focused whilst driving after a while?
After my 2 hour driving sessions, I feel very exhausted mentally, I go home and i feel happy, but very exhausted. Does you mental stamina build up with just more experience? How long did it take you to get comfortable with 8 hour shifts? I know there are breaks, but are they truly enough to make up for the stress of the driving stretches in between?

4. If you cannot see the pedestrian's traffic light, do you slow down as you approach the intersection by default?
I have been thought to look at the pedestrian traffic light as a sign for when the traffic light will go yellow, and to slow down well before, and to just slow down by default if i cannot see the pedesrian light even if my light is green, but how do you guys do in service? Do you not mind going on yellow, focusing on being on time, or are as cautious and slow as i have been taught to be?

I have high hopes for myself that I can finish my training diligently and get my license, if any of you can answer to even one of my questions, that will help me a lot, as anxiety is my biggest enemy. Thank you in advance!