Any female bus drivers

[Cleopatras]

I'm considering a career change after an injury at work. I really love driving and am considering applying for a trainee bus driver job. I met a female bus driver last week who gave me a lot of great information and has encouraged me to apply.

I just wanted to hear from other female bus drivers because I did a search and no threads came up.

How long have you been a bus driver?

Do you only drive one route or various ones?

How was the training?

Do you enjoy it?

Any other information and advice I'd really appreciate.

I used to be a manger for a large bus company and we had quite a few female bus drivers. You will read positive and negative reviews but essentially the job is secure (at least as anything can be these days) and generally with the bigger companies it's guaranteed min hours a week. We used to have quite a few female drivers who did late shifts regularly through choice and rarely had any issues. Passengers can be challenging but no more so these days than in shops etc.
If you do your job properly ie turn up for work, aren't rude to the customers and don't crash the buses regularly, you can make a career out of it and with opportunities for progression. I had drivers who had 40 years service on retirement, albeit they were male. Those who complain on social media about the role I guarantee you will be the ones who were always in breach of the rules. I'd say go for it.

I applied to be a bus driver between the end of finals and publication of our results.

Didn't get it, there was a minimum height requirement 5'4" in 1982

I didn't know there used to be a height limit. I'm short under 5ft 3 and passed my bus test mid 2000s. There were a few buses that i struggled with but most were plz

Oh, interesting @Bipbobbam thank you for the update. How is the job going, does it work well for you?

I enjoyed my role but after 15 years I needed a change of career. The industry is crying out for staff so always worth applying. Only downside is that those companies that offer paid training only give guaranteed employment if you pass your test so can be a risk for people already in employment

@Bipbobbam thank you so much. I'm definitely going to apply

@FinallyHere I'm so sorry to hear that

I fell into Bus driving in 2001 used it for a few years, has children, then health issues and returned to D1 after fifteen years and finally D after a 16 year gap. It's a job where you can walk into any town or city and get work with an immediate start. It's got me out of a financial hole in several occasions. I love what the licence has done for me as a driver. It's the hardest job in some respects but also the easiest. I always found the day passed very quickly. Good luck.

Hi cleopatras am in a similar position, did you apply? Do you like kee?

We had a few women bus drivers. Havent seen any for a while now.

Been doing it for 20 years, along with some management roles.

I enjoy the driving but prefer coaches to bus driving. Driving the same routes gets boring, with coaches you get to go to new places.

Currently I do a lot of school runs, tend to stay on the same route as I like the kids and then do school trips in between. I'm finished by 4.15 every day, and I can take loads of time off in school holidays which means I'm around for my own kids.