Right, a few points to answer for various things highlighted. Firstly, First should train all trainee drivers in how to use the ticket machine before trainees even start off learning a route, that can easily be done in the privacy of the training room with trainers asking trainees to select all types of fares as part of an intensive exam at the end. Secondly, route learning on five routes should be part of the trainee's training before they actually do any of those routes for real, this should be done in the privacy of the training environment using simulators, given the accuracy of Google Maps that's not a bad option either. You can even take a bus out on the road with trainees on following those five routes for real. There is no need what so ever for a trainee to learn on the job. It all seems to be a bit of a rush them in and see how they do job, more importantly why should the public be late when ever a trainee drives, and in Leeds that's plenty of times? Back in the days of Yorkshire Rider, I never saw a trainee being trained on the job. It's got nothing what so ever to do with traffic and more to do with First taking short cuts instead of doing more in depth training before allowing a trainee loose in public, the trainees simply aren't up to the standard expected to keep a route to time.
As a side note, in adult social care we don't allow anyone to do the job for real until 6 full weeks of shadow training has happened whereby normal staff do all the work, and trainees watch and learn, they are then assessed for a day by management to see if what they have learned has sunk in, only then are they expected to be able to do the job and even then they are further assessed for a few days by staff before being allowed to do it on their own.
media.stagecoachgroup.com
