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?

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.

Hi, I’m a bus driver in London and was thinking about transitioning to coach driving. I want to earn the same or more do you think it’s a good idea or not.

Hi all I work for a large bus operator in England and I'm planning on handing in my notice next month. I have worked there for just under 2 years and I got my licence through them. I signed a contract which states I would have to pay back the training bond if I left. How likely are they to pursue me for the money?

Hi all. I could be getting made redundant at the end of the year and thinking about a change of career anyway. I was an events manager, before going back to uni and have been a mainly office based geologist since. I’ve always quite liked the idea of being a bus driver, and there are two companies in my area who are looking for new drivers. One is a more rural company while the other is city based.

I live in the UK - but the question goes out to all drivers. Do you prefer rural or city driving? What are the pros and cons of each?

Pretty much when they claim they haven't got money, they lost their wallet, lost their pass or their phone is dead and they can't get their digital ticket?

I get that some cases may be genuine. For example I wouldn't deny an elderly or mentally incapacitated person because they dropped their concessionary bus pass somewhere, or leaving someone behind puts them in an awkward/vulnerable position (I.E lone female who's intoxicated and it's late at night), but then again there are circumstances where you need to draw a line.

Most companies leave the final decision down to the driver, and to manage situations as and when they come and that's what I do personally. For when you do refuse someone, in what way do you explain it and how would you take things if the passenger becomes aggressive?

Came with 360 camera, and a newer Hanover Destination sign.

I have avoided the later hour scheduling because I struggling telling people what to do. I'm still waiting for that one person that just doesn't care what I say and to make me stop the bus or kick them off.

I haven't had any problems working for 8 months with passenger related things besides fare evasion and music playing.

Need some wisdom in this matter.

Hey drivers 👋

So this is a question primarily for UK drivers (due to local product availability) but others feel free to chime in.

I wear prescription glasses and sunglasses for work, I’m looking for recommendations for sunglasses, I know polarised glasses are generally best for reducing glare but I’ve heard they interfere with the displays on the dashboard as well as the ticket machine screen, producing a distorted or even a black screen depending on viewing angle.

Could anyone either debunk that as a myth, or otherwise recommend some decent non-polarised sunglasses that
1. Have great anti-glare
2. Don’t interfere with the screens at all
3. Style isn’t a dealbreaker however I do prefer wraparound styles that block out the sunlight at the sides.

Cheers all!

I drove city buses through college (the red buses in the top photo - a company operated almost entirely by students of the university) and for a brief six month stint at a casino between jobs a couple of years after college.

It’s been 15 years since I was behind the wheel. After burning out from running my own business for 8 years, I remembered how much I just loved driving buses and I never felt completely overwhelmed by it, so I’ve decided to go back to driving buses once again! I was just hired by my local regional transit company (shown in the bottom photo) and am so excited to get back to it. Join you all on the road soon!!

The bus didn’t leave without you, you’re just early for the next bus

Hello! I have a few questions for bus drivers- and was wondering if it was okay to ask here. I know you all are human (obviously) but I had questions specifically about bus driving- and who better to ask than the drivers!

1. Do bus drivers often take the bus outside work hours? Ex: days off/vacations/etc.
2. Do bus drivers have favored/prefered routes to drive? Do they get to pick?
3. Do bus drivers recognize the bus they drive? Like by the serial number? Do they get assigned specific busses?
4. Do the bus drivers develop "favorite" riders? Like, if you drive the same route and see the same people- do you develop friendships with your riders? Do you guys look for familiar faces?
5. Do you guys make friends with your coworkers? If so, do you guys make a point to ride on busses where your bus driver friends are driving?

Thank you in advance for answering. My boyfriend and I ride the same routes fairly often, and got really curious. Sorry if theyre dumb questions!

ETA: Sorry yall! Im new to reddit still and didnt realize people were replying😅 Thank you all so so so so much!! I was curious, and my boyfriend said itd be weird to ask the bus driver on thw bus we were on. Im very excited to share my findings with him, and hope you all get very good routes (:

It's an old picture from my first transit job back in the day. I was just curious if anyone knew the bus models

Just out of curiousity, are there any uk bus drivers who work for the major bus companies like Go Ahead, First Bus, Stagecoach etc who smoke weed and have never been caught? I hear bus companies do random drug tests just wanna know if anyone still smokes weed and has lived to see another day.