Anybody looking to become a bus driver should check out www.pcvlicencetraining.co.uk - there's loads of information on how to gain your PCV Licence on there.

   Re linniebirds comments, Loved your comments. As a bus driver with 8 years on the job i can only agree wholeheartedly with everything you have said. It is a very stressful job and we do put up with a lot from not only passengers but other road users as well. It can also be a very enjoyable job, especially if you enjoy meeting new people. I meet more nice people than nasty so i will continue doing the job i love. As far as the comments made by the individual to whom you were writing in response to, i wonder what he does for as living? He refers to drivers taking a pay freeze or even a cut in pay. How much does he think we earn? If we earnt as much as he obviously believes we do then perhaps we wouldn't have to work 70 hour weeks in order to support our families. If he ever starts a bus company of his own i will be first in line for a job as i can't wait to see what he is paying!

   Re: Hornbeam's comment. When exactly were you a bus driver? There seems to be a degree of animosity toward bus drivers here and I'm wondering what is fuelling it. From my experience, there is a common public misconception that bus drivers are a bunch of workshy, uneducated, ignorant idiots who like nothing more than to annoy people. ('On the Buses' tv programme has a lot to answer for). While a small minority might be like this, I assure you they are are just that - a minority. The vast majority are very hard-working and go out of their way to be helpful. Furthermore, far from being uneducated, you would not believe the qualifications and trades some of us hold. From graduates, to former engineers, company directors, computer technicians, the list goes on and on. Bus driving might seem, forgive the pun, an easy ride, but it's anything but. I have been doing the job for five years and it can be very high stress. On a daily basis, not only are you dealing with a vehicle whose dimensions bring problems unique to the space you occupy on the road, but you have pressures of an unforgiving timetable to adhere to. This in turn is affected by conditions outside of your control such as road works, diversions (including unplanned diversions en-route due to major incidents), volume of other road users, passenger numbers and types, pedestrians, weather and a host of variables too numerous to state here. Let me point out one thing. All PCV drivers will have a car licence as a prerequisite. Many will hold additional licences such as LGV Class 1 etc and/or motorcycle. Both the theory and practical PCV test is far more stringent than for a car, requiring a comprehensive knowledge of the Highway Code and a high degree road awareness and forward-planning. If the much-maligned bus driver was to drive their vehicle the way most ordinary car licence holders drive their cars/vans there would be a huge increase in RTC's. I am not saying bus drivers are perfect because they're not. We are all human (this may come as a surprise) and we all make mistakes. When you consider the average person may drive no more than an hour or two a day, if that, (eg. to and from a place of work, the odd shopping trip etc) there is a lower potential for problems. Bus drivers, (as all professional drivers) are on the road anything between 40 - 70 hours per week. The main difference between a bus driver and an LGV driver is that the LGV driver doesn't have to worry about the human casualties on his vehicle, say, when performing an emergence stop because a pedestrian has stepped off the pavement without looking, no more than a few feet from the front of their vehicle. One more thing. How would you feel about going to work if you knew you faced verbal and sometimes physical abuse almost on a daily basis? Confrontations are fairly common, many based upon other road users not observing, or having insufficient knowledge of the Highway Code. Professional drivers MUST have this knowledge - it's part of the job, but it doesn't stop people arguing about such things as priority (which isn't as clear-cut as most people think). An ideal example of how people fail to appreciate the problems of drivers of large vehicles presented itself when one of my colleagues was harangued by a car driver who called him a 'w****r'. Some time later, this same person joined the company as a bus driver. He apologised to his now colleague, saying he really didn't understand what it was like for bus drivers, but having now experienced the aggression directed at HIM, (whereas before he was doing the same thing), he now realises it's not all peachy out there. Of course, being a female driver brings its own problems. Not only are you considered to be inferior by virtue of your sex, but you're doing the unforgiveable by driving something bigger than they are!! So the next time someone is thinking of having a go at the bus driver, remember this: If every single person on that bus was driving a car, your traffic queues would be a lot longer!

    so mr freeman says turnover is low on reading buses, i happen to know an ex bus driver that was sacked not so long ago for some really stupid reasons. it will be interesting to see how many drivers like him get forced out to make way for younger and foreign models who will not upset the status quo.

    Well now there are so many applying perhaps they can do what most other companies are doing in these tough times- freeze pay. So that, along with lower fuel prices will mean no fare increases this year- or better still cut wages. Lets face it its not the toughest job, air conditioned cabs, not having to deal with money, power steering and automatic gear boxes. But hold on- it will never happen as that will mean Mr Freeman having to grow a spine and face up to the union… no instead he will no doubt give a pay rise then put the fares up….. and then wonder why ridership is down

   So Mr Freemans looking for a "Bouncer" with a personality. Says a lot .

   Quantity is no guarantee of quality.

   Its a shame, seems to be no where to hide from this recession. At least Reading will should get the best bus drivers as a result.

   Top notch news there.

Company has waiting list.

Cutting edge.

   Just as hundreds of cars queue up behind buses on the Oxford Road....