Need advice for getting into UK bus industry

[gaelicgringo]

Right so to start off with I am a dual citizen of the US and Ireland. I currently live in Ireland but previously lived in the US where I was a bus driver.



Due to some life circumstances I've decided I'll move to the UK. However my American bus licence doesn't transfer to Ireland or the UK. I currently have an Irish car licence which I earned a few months ago however I can't become a driver trainee here in Ireland as I haven't had my Irish licence for 2 years despite all my bus driving experience from the US.



Anyway I'm looking to make the move to the UK in the next few months and I'm aware I'll likely have to exchange my Irish car licence for a UK car licence in order to become a bus driver trainee in the UK which is fair enough.



Anyway I'm looking to go somewhere in England or Wales(I'd go to Scotland but I have to get a divorce sorted which is a whole other complicated situation in itself)

An issue is that I don't know where to go in England/Wales. There's several companies/depots that are hiring but I'm not familiar with any of the areas and I'd be starting out fresh there.



This may be a bit subjective but what companies are best to work for? And what areas of England/Wales are affordable? Also would most companies be willing to take me on given that I haven't had a licence from Europe that long but have a few years experience from the US? I have driven motorcoaches in the New York City area as well as Pittsburgh and some of my intercity trips brought me to Montreal and Toronto so I've done a lot of hours behind the wheel.



Also how long does the hiring process usually take?



Anyways any advice is appreciated. I'm fully planning to make the move to the UK but don't know where to go

 

[Cesarcollie]

Right so to start off with I am a dual citizen of the US and Ireland. I currently live in Ireland but previously lived in the US where I was a bus driver.



Due to some life circumstances I've decided I'll move to the UK. However my American bus licence doesn't transfer to Ireland or the UK. I currently have an Irish car licence which I earned a few months ago however I can't become a driver trainee here in Ireland as I haven't had my Irish licence for 2 years despite all my bus driving experience from the US.



Anyway I'm looking to make the move to the UK in the next few months and I'm aware I'll likely have to exchange my Irish car licence for a UK car licence in order to become a bus driver trainee in the UK which is fair enough.



Anyway I'm looking to go somewhere in England or Wales(I'd go to Scotland but I have to get a divorce sorted which is a whole other complicated situation in itself)

An issue is that I don't know where to go in England/Wales. There's several companies/depots that are hiring but I'm not familiar with any of the areas and I'd be starting out fresh there.



This may be a bit subjective but what companies are best to work for? And what areas of England/Wales are affordable? Also would most companies be willing to take me on given that I haven't had a licence from Europe that long but have a few years experience from the US? I have driven motorcoaches in the New York City area as well as Pittsburgh and some of my intercity trips brought me to Montreal and Toronto so I've done a lot of hours behind the wheel.



Also how long does the hiring process usually take?



Anyways any advice is appreciated. I'm fully planning to make the move to the UK but don't know where to go

Hard to know where to start. You will find bus companies (generally not coach) in most areas of the UK who will (assuming they’re happy with your experience/licence/performance at interview & driving assessment) be prepared to train you to PCV standard, providing you sign an indemnity that ties you to working for them for a period of time- typically 1-2 years. This means if you leave eithin the set period you have to pay back a proportion of your training costs. Amounts/details will vary by company and location. Rates of pay and working hours/conditions vary. Highest pay is almost certainly companies in London. But that goes either way the highest living costs, and the most unsociable shift patterns. Next will be bigger cities and conurbations elsewhere. Lowest pay is probably rural/small town depots - but they will be more Monday-Saturday daytime shifts, with ‘nicer’ passengers. There are variations in all the above by geographical area broadly in line with cost of living. So the south east generally pays more (but costs more) than the north, for example. It all depends on your priorities for work/life balance vs money vs location. As for best companies to work for….. there is no easy answer. people on here will give you strong opinions, but even within the big owning groups, one operating company Can be completely different to another depending on history, personalities, and local management. A smaller independent may have more of a ‘family’ feel and nicer shifts, but may well also pay less. Some small big group depots may dimilarly have a ‘small company’ feel. So there’s no easy answer. Decide your priorities and choice of urban vs rural living, then look around and speak to drivers working in that area. Recruitment from applying, medical, provisional licence, training, test and company route learning etc can take anything from 6 weeks upwards. its unlikEly any paid training will start until you’ve obtained your provisional PCV licence.

 

[mk1979]

Hey, welcome to the UK!

It's a long time since I've directly recruited of bus drivers myself but when I did I recruited people who'd moved to the UK from all around the world so the lack of UK driving experience isn't something I'd personally consider a barrier. The fact you've got experience of driving buses and working with the public is an advantage in my eyes.

Converting an Irish driving licence to a UK licence should be relatively straight forward process once you're in the UK. The hiring process is roughly 4-8 weeks and will typically involve an interview, medical and potentially driving assessment. You'll need to demonstrate 'Right to Work' in the UK, presumably you'll rely be relying on your Irish citizenship for that. Irish citizens don't need a Visa to work under the CTA but you will need to apply for a National Insurance number in order to work in the UK.

As your US bus licence isn't convertable to a UK cat D you'll need to undertake bus driver training and all the assessments/tests again, most bus companies will provide that training for you, and pay you during the training process, but in return you'll sign a training bond for a period. That process can take 2-4 weeks depending on experience. There's then a further period of vehicle familiarisation, ticket and route training.

In terms of where to live and who to work for, depends on the type of work you want to do. In terms of affordability, generally the further from London the more affordable to live.

As for of who to work for, I'd perhaps start by deciding what region of the UK you want to live in then look around at who the operators in that region are. Most large operators will be recruiting at some point in the year. Apply to several and get a feel for where you'd prefer to work based on how the interviews go. Go for a ride on their buses and talk to their drivers is usually a reasonably good way of getting a feel for are they a decent company or not. I'm not totally convinced you will get objective views on who the best operators are to work for on forums like this.