Bus Driver Information
A bus driver, bus operator or omnibus driver is a person who drives buses professionally. Bus drivers typically drive their vehicles between bus stations or stops. They often drop off and pick up passengers on a predetermined route schedule. In British English a different term, coach drivers, is used for drivers on long-distance routes and school trips. There are various types of bus drivers, including those who work for both public (state and federal governments) and private enterprise, such as charter companies.
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Work of bus driver
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A bus driver transports passengers, and sometimes goods, from place to place also making announcements if required. They are in the employ either of a private traffic contractor or of municipal traffic services. They can operate chartered or scheduled services. The profession requires a flexible attitude, willingness to be of service, kindness and technical skills in traffic. The work is variable and independent and requires concentration.
The work picture of the profession varies depending on an area and company. In the local traffic of towns it will be driven on dense stop spaces both in the suburb areas and in the neighbouring municipalities on the street network of the town when on the countryside it is driven on the longer routes on which the stops are a lot scarcer. In the long-distance traffic mainly express coaches between the most important densely populated areas are driven. The work can also be service traffic or call traffic which is driven in the minibuses.
The drivers drive either the town buses or the express buses. In the first case the drivers drive the route that has been defined in advance stopping on the places which have been clearly defined as stops and have been marked for the passengers. At every stop the driver takes the new passengers to the lift collecting a fare from them or controlling that they show a driver or stamping device their valid ticket.
The long-distance traffic contains lines of different types. The express coaches usually run main roads and in the first place serve traffic between the bigger towns. The stops are defined in advance and the driver may take and may leave passengers only at these stops. There are more express bus stops in bigger towns. There is usually one stop per smaller localities along the route, either at the bus station or in the case of smaller and/or more outlying localities, in the stem of the main road. The regular services serve trips between the smaller densely populated areas and countryside being emphasised nowadays to the pupils' travel needs. The regular services usually go smaller roads, sometimes even gravel roads. If some part of the route does not have stops or if the need requires it, the passengers can be taken to a lift and can be left from the lift in any given safe section. On the regular services there are shares of the route which are driven, only if necessary sometimes. In these cases a bus must be mentioned the matter to the driver or must be ordered in advance there by telephone.
The driver can drive school buses also. The school bus collects the children in the mornings or in the morning from the stops near the children's homes and transports them to the school. In the afternoons or in the evenings the route is driven in the second direction collecting the children in the school and transporting them to its home stops.
The driver's tasks include the checking of the validity and competency of the tickets on the passengers and, if necessary, the selling of tickets. The bus will be driven to the stop if the passengers are coming to the lift or to be excluded and the doors are opened for the time of the stopping.
In the local traffic there have been conductors serving passengers and have taken care of the matters which are related to the tickets traditionally. In the long-distance traffic there have been car hostesses selling tickets correspondingly, served the ones which had loaded luggage into the boot, and served snacks during the trip. The driver's work did not contain customer service but he took care of the driving. Nowadays the conductors and car hostesses the saving reasons have been much given up in the Western countries and in addition to the driving the driver takes care of their task.
The driver's responsibility one is to the passengers of the adjusting of the lighting, air conditioning and heating of the car to please. Furthermore, he can operate the audio units or video devices in the car. Others the ones to be done are connected to the maintenance of the car as checking of cooling water, oil and tyre pressure. The driver refuels the car and makes the necessary service operations. If a bus breaks down, falls in the crash or another serious situation appears, the driver informs of the matter to the management and asking depending on the situation also to the authorities when needed help.
Bus drivers in the United States
One of the most common jobs in the United States for a bus driver is to work for a public school, transporting students aboard a school bus to and from the school building. As of 2004, 71% of bus drivers in the U.S. were employed by schools.[citation needed] In other countries, school transport is often provided by the same companies that run other bus services in the area, so school bus driver is not a separate position.
In the United States, finding a position as a bus driver usually requires that the individual possess a commercial driver's license (CDL) and specialized training for the vehicle. Various other educational and vocational training may be required, however this varies from place to place. Bus drivers also need to possess social skills for interacting with their passengers, which is a daily occurrence.
Bus drivers who work for local government transportation agencies earn more than those who work for other types of employers.[1]
Bus drivers in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom drivers must have passed the Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) practical driving and theory test. People with more than three penalty points on their normal driving licence are not allowed to become bus drivers.
Traditionally, before the introduction of one-man buses on many city routes, the bus driver had no contact with the passengers, the tickets being sold by a bus conductor. Now many buses are fitted with closed-circuit television in an attempt to protect drivers from an increasing number of attacks which has resulted in a recruitment crisis in some British cities. [1]
Bus drivers in history
One famous incident involving a bus driver during the period of racial segregation in the United States was in 1955 when Montgomery, Alabama bus driver James F. Blake insisted that Rosa Parks give up her seat for a white male, and she refused; this began a bus boycott that ultimately ended segregation on public transportation in the United States of America.
Bus drivers in popular culture
Ralph Kramden, the lead character on The Honeymooners, drove a bus on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Busdriver, born Regan J Farquhar, is a rapper from Los Angeles.
See also
References
- ^ "Bus Drivers" in Occupational Outlook Handbook from U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
External links
- Bus drivers at the United States Department of Labor's website.
- BusJobs.ca Get A Transit Job In Canada.
Categories: Bus transport | Transportation occupations
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