February 14 2022

Bus and coach driving roles can offer lots of different opportunities, but both bus and coach driving are all about people – giving great customer service and making a real difference to people’s lives whether that’s getting people to work, school, college, a doctor’s appointment or taking them on a well-deserved leisure trip or holiday

Outlined below are some of the differences between bus and coach driving, to help you decide what role is most suited to you.

Stay local or travel further afield

Most bus driving is local so you’re never that far from base.

Coach driving can involve travelling further afield. Some operators will focus on a particular type of work but can involve:

  • Coaches hired by groups.
  • Leisure trips including day-long excursions and longer trips involving a number of nights in hotels – these could be in the UK or longer trips around Europe.
  • Local home-to-school and contract work.
  • Scheduled coach services – most people are familiar with National Express’ white coaches and Megabus’ blue coaches but other operators also provide scheduled services. These often travel longer distances – some drivers return home each day/night but others may sometimes stay away in a hotel.
  • Rail replacement – where coaches carry rail passengers when rail services are disrupted. Distances vary but drivers usually return home when they’ve finished their shift.

Variety

Every day is different but most bus drivers work on the same route or group of routes every day.  Drivers can often choose the type of route that suits them.

Some coach operations such as home-to-school and scheduled services offer the same familiarity as a bus service, and other coach work can be varied with travel over the UK and Europe.

Planning your days and weeks

Bus drivers usually have a roster showing what hours they’ll be working for many weeks ahead.

Some coach drivers will have a very stable pattern of hours, others will vary but will know what they will be doing a week or two in advance. This will usually be further ahead if the operator focuses on holidays or excursions.

Detailed guidance or more flexibility

Bus drivers are given detailed schedules explaining when they should depart and arrive different locations.  They also get detailed guidance on how to deal with common situations and usually have a means of directly communicating with a supervisor to ask for advice if required.

Some coach operations such as home-to-school and scheduled services will need to follow detailed schedules but other types of work may offer more flexibility and drivers will be able to choose where they stop for a break or what they do whilst their group is at its destination.  Drivers would of course be able to get support from a supervisor or manager if they’re not sure what to do in a situation.

The vehicle

Buses range from minibuses right up to double-deckers and drivers will often drive several different buses each day. Despite their size, almost anyone can drive a modern bus after they receive the right training.  Usually, there is a specialist team which fuels and cleans the vehicles when they arrive back at the depot/garage.

Coaches also vary in size but are often longer than buses. Most coach drivers will drive just one vehicle in the course of a day and some may be allocated a vehicle on a long term basis and are asked to keep it fuelled-up and clean day to day.

The passengers

Many people are only on a bus for about 15 minutes so it’s usual for lots of different people to be getting on and off all the time. Bus passengers come from all age ranges and social backgrounds, and some may need additional help for example with directions, timetables, and fares.

The nature of coach travel means that people generally make longer journeys and in some cases, your passengers will be the same group of people for a whole day; for a holiday, it could be the same group for a week or even longer and you will eat with the passengers in the evening. The group can vary from school children to Premier League footballers, groups of older people having a day out or a diverse range of passengers on a scheduled coach service.