I drove for Arriva in Liverpool for 17 years before going in the office for another 6 years.
I would rather have a load of drunks on the bus on a Friday night than find myself outside a school at 15.30 when they are kicking out
I have loads of good and bad stories that happened on the buses but I decided years ago I wouldnât drive buses again, to be honest I had a serious accident and the 5 over 7 shifts with up to 3 split shifts a week was doing my head in and overtime was basic rate.
I did love the job back in the 80âs and very early 90âs and made some good mates.
As for driving the buses, when I was out training for my current HGV job one of the drivers with me commented I held the truck steady and smooth when fully laden on a motorway slip road, I just told him I imagined I had a full load of standing passengers on the back waiting to make an insurance claim off me should I balls up
update I just had email ive been ivited 4 face to face interview this Friday , and im 13 stone and 5 ft 11 tall so one of those people that its unusual to suffer rm sleep apnea , im just going to go with the flow and see how I get on at interview , I have a new doctor now so at the end of day I just see what happens , its not as if im going to get tired all the stop start and talking to passengers and activity , its a bit diff to slogging mile after mile up a motorway with all the monotony .
The only problem is when you drive a truck you can have a break when you want or when tired, on a bus your break is rostered on your duty so you have it when they say, if you do get tired I usually stop bus & stand outside pretending theres a problem so you donât get moaned at for holding passengers up.
My other half drives service buses; one of her colleagues has just had to stop because of possible sleep apnoea.
He was driving down the road, nodded off, damaged the bus but fortunately no passengers injured.
With the greatest respect, if youâre determined to do this get the medical condition under control first. You cannot seriously want to take the risk of the same thing happening to you, with potentially much worse consequences.
And what daj911 said is spot-on. You canât just stop a bus cos you feel tired; well you can and itâs the right thing to do in one sense but youâd soon cop for a P45.
Daz1970:
young mothers on & off bus with buggy/pushchair (if on a quiet route), handing in any lost property you come across, ensuring elderly/disabled get a seat, advising passengers on stopping points/fares/best(cheapest)tickets/timetables/last buses etc. - all CAN be part of job role!!! Not just about driving!!! Somebody once said âbus driving would be a great job - if it werenât for the passengers!!!â Ha Ha!!!
Good luck
Was all that written tongue in cheek?! I used to get the bus when I was younger, very rarely seen a bus driver do any of that
It was only long distance driving with no stopping just the monotony of it that made me feel tired , im ok driving round town and stop start , I donât get tired , I have interview Friday so im going to it , tbh I really want a job so im just going to interview and keeping my mouth shut as sleep apnea , maybe It hasnât been recorded at Swansea ? all I know is back in 2008 my doctor wouldnât give me a pass on my medical , maybe if I take another I will pass , at end of day im going to interview and will take it frm there , I appreciate all the help and advice ive been given by you guys
Of course itâs registered at Swansea it was them that revoked your Hgv . Iâm sure the answer is to find treatment for it hopefully you will find work soon
Daz1970:
young mothers on & off bus with buggy/pushchair (if on a quiet route), handing in any lost property you come across, ensuring elderly/disabled get a seat, advising passengers on stopping points/fares/best(cheapest)tickets/timetables/last buses etc. - all CAN be part of job role!!! Not just about driving!!! Somebody once said âbus driving would be a great job - if it werenât for the passengers!!!â Ha Ha!!!
Good luck
Was all that written tongue in cheek?! I used to get the bus when I was younger, very rarely seen a bus driver do any of that
No, not tongue in cheek at all!!! Depends on certain factors i.e. location, driverâs attitude, no. of passengers on board, time of day etcâŚetcâŚ
I regularly use Stagecoach around East Coast & their driverâs are (usually) very helpful - advising of cheapest ticket options, which stop to use for a particular venue, often polite, talkative to customers. Compare that with a busy inner-city commuter route & maybe none of the above will apply. I think the more rural the route, the more helpful the driver tends to be - of course - there are always exceptions to both scenarios!!!
Get your doctor to sort out a sleep test then get fitted with a cpap machine which will stop your sleep apnea and you will be allowed to drive. If DVLA know about it and you donât get it under control they will revoke your license and if you donât tell them as soon as you find out they will revoke it as well while they look into your case.
ricardo62:
coriji how weird my num starts 075 , is it an ad or an article , if I wasnât so lazy id pop to the shop and buy a copy and have a look??
it was an ad ,quite big size -
i was reading the star in the cafe near the docks ,it was in their paper - perhaps you are moving and you dont know it yet!
i spect the paper will still be there in the rack and i know the cafe is open late, PIRI PIRI cafe on wherstead rd so you could go look without spending anything
ricardo62:
lol im not goin 2 drive out to fxt just to have a look but I might pop dwn to cnr shop now , you have made me curiuos it was todays paper ?
Papas piri piri cafe is in ipswich near the docks , 67 wherstead road . yes it was todays paper . youre gonna have to get down that cafe sharpish id think most newsagents are sold out by now
