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Post by YY13VKP on Aug 23, 2018 20:18:14 GMT
"Yes do it" At it 3 months so far and absolutely love it. My process was nothing like the op's though. 1, fill out application 2, Interview...very relaxed affair and job offer immediately. 3, Medical (company arranged and paid for) 4, DBS (again paid for) 5, Theory, Hazard perception, CPC case studies (again paid for) 6, Week 1..Start driver training and CPC Mod 4. 7, Week 2..Mod 4 test 8, Week 3..Practical driving test 9, Week 4.. Bus plus, learning to deal with customer scenarios and ticket machine price learning etc. 8, Week 5..on the job training and route learning with a mentor. 9, week 6..as above again. 10, week 7..Out solo and loving it. Congratulations - which company are you working for out of interest? |
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Post by busaholic on Aug 23, 2018 21:38:39 GMT
"Yes do it" At it 3 months so far and absolutely love it. My process was nothing like the op's though. 1, fill out application 2, Interview...very relaxed affair and job offer immediately. 3, Medical (company arranged and paid for) 4, DBS (again paid for) 5, Theory, Hazard perception, CPC case studies (again paid for) 6, Week 1..Start driver training and CPC Mod 4. 7, Week 2..Mod 4 test 8, Week 3..Practical driving test 9, Week 4.. Bus plus, learning to deal with customer scenarios and ticket machine price learning etc. 8, Week 5..on the job training and route learning with a mentor. 9, week 6..as above again. 10, week 7..Out solo and loving it. Congratulations - which company are you working for out of interest? I think he gives a clue on a recent post on another thread that I just read. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 24, 2018 14:35:48 GMT
Congratulations - which company are you working for out of interest? I think he gives a clue on a recent post on another thread that I just read. Indeed I did. I'll be cryptic about it though lol...you'll find the answer in the night sky during this rare lunar phenomenon. |
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 8, 2019 18:07:49 GMT
4 years later, Friday the 13th of September will be my last day with Stagecoach London, after quite a while of thinking about it, I've decided to leave and work for another company, I'm not going to go into much detail but it's mainly for more time off. I have mostly enjoyed the time I have worked with the company and the people I've worked with over the last few years, Megasightseeing sticks out as a memorable time for sure and the great team behind it. The last year and a bit that I've spent at Rainham as an AGS (Acting Garage Supervisor) has given me a very detailed insight into the operations of a bus company, why somethings work and others don't and also just how hard people work behind the scenes to make sure you have a bus service. I will certainly miss being at Rainham but I'm glad I've worked at the garage, I'm sure the experience will come in handy in the future. From the 16th of September, I'll be driving blue and silver buses with a new username to suit  |
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Post by vjaska on Sept 8, 2019 18:09:57 GMT
4 years later, Friday the 13th of September will be my last day with Stagecoach London, after quite a while of thinking about it, I've decided to leave and work for another company, I'm not going to go into much detail but it's mainly for more time off. I have mostly enjoyed the time I have worked with the company and the people I've worked with over the last few years, Megasightseeing sticks out as a memorable time for sure and the great team behind it. The last year and a bit that I've spent at Rainham as an AGS (Acting Garage Supervisor) has given me a very detailed insight into the operations of a bus company, why somethings work and others don't and also just how hard people work behind the scenes to make sure you have a bus service. I will certainly miss being at Rainham but I'm glad I've worked at the garage, I'm sure the experience will come in handy in the future. From the 16th of September, I'll be driving blue and silver buses with a new username to suit I'm sure Arriva will be happy to have you  |
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Post by busoccultation on Sept 8, 2019 18:22:28 GMT
4 years later, Friday the 13th of September will be my last day with Stagecoach London, after quite a while of thinking about it, I've decided to leave and work for another company, I'm not going to go into much detail but it's mainly for more time off. I have mostly enjoyed the time I have worked with the company and the people I've worked with over the last few years, Megasightseeing sticks out as a memorable time for sure and the great team behind it. The last year and a bit that I've spent at Rainham as an AGS (Acting Garage Supervisor) has given me a very detailed insight into the operations of a bus company, why somethings work and others don't and also just how hard people work behind the scenes to make sure you have a bus service. I will certainly miss being at Rainham but I'm glad I've worked at the garage, I'm sure the experience will come in handy in the future. From the 16th of September, I'll be driving blue and silver buses with a new username to suit I'm sure Arriva will be happy to have you Blue and Sliver buses = Ensignbus |
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Post by rif153 on Sept 8, 2019 19:29:32 GMT
4 years later, Friday the 13th of September will be my last day with Stagecoach London, after quite a while of thinking about it, I've decided to leave and work for another company, I'm not going to go into much detail but it's mainly for more time off. I have mostly enjoyed the time I have worked with the company and the people I've worked with over the last few years, Megasightseeing sticks out as a memorable time for sure and the great team behind it. The last year and a bit that I've spent at Rainham as an AGS (Acting Garage Supervisor) has given me a very detailed insight into the operations of a bus company, why somethings work and others don't and also just how hard people work behind the scenes to make sure you have a bus service. I will certainly miss being at Rainham but I'm glad I've worked at the garage, I'm sure the experience will come in handy in the future. From the 16th of September, I'll be driving blue and silver buses with a new username to suit Good luck for the future, I hope you enjoy the new challenge |
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Post by vjaska on Sept 8, 2019 20:46:53 GMT
I'm sure Arriva will be happy to have you Blue and Sliver buses = Ensignbus I know - my post was a joke |
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Post by ThinLizzy on Sept 10, 2019 6:31:24 GMT
4 years later, Friday the 13th of September will be my last day with Stagecoach London, after quite a while of thinking about it, I've decided to leave and work for another company, I'm not going to go into much detail but it's mainly for more time off. I have mostly enjoyed the time I have worked with the company and the people I've worked with over the last few years, Megasightseeing sticks out as a memorable time for sure and the great team behind it. The last year and a bit that I've spent at Rainham as an AGS (Acting Garage Supervisor) has given me a very detailed insight into the operations of a bus company, why somethings work and others don't and also just how hard people work behind the scenes to make sure you have a bus service. I will certainly miss being at Rainham but I'm glad I've worked at the garage, I'm sure the experience will come in handy in the future. From the 16th of September, I'll be driving blue and silver buses with a new username to suit good luck at the Blue and Silver company. I worked with them for many years when I worked rail replacements for Capital Citybus/First London before joining DLR. They're a great bunch to work for, and I'm sure there will be plenty more opportunities to gain more experience and build your career further with the blue and silvers 👍 |
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Post by VPL630 on Sept 14, 2019 2:21:36 GMT
Ending up finishing tonight with YX19 OMG and on the 372, typical that I end up on a route that goes to somewhere I’ll be spending a lot more time over the next few months, either way, I have had an enjoyable time and hopefully whatever comes next is even better
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Post by tomtom on May 13, 2021 20:39:59 GMT
Hello,
I’ve read this thread and thoroughly enjoyed it. These years later I seem to be treading a similar path and interviewing for a trainee driver role at stagecoach NE.
Can anyone shed any light on the assessment and interview process. Any tips?
Thanks in advance
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Post by VPL630 on Jun 2, 2022 17:55:31 GMT
As there isn't a thread for bus reviews that aren't London or current and I'm not sure if I drive enough different vehicles to warrant starting one I've posted here, saying that, I also drove a Pre War RT and a B Type Replica this morning. A few days ago I got the opportunity to road-test a bendy bus in the form of Ex Brighton and Hove 124 - Ex GAL MAL117 - BP57 UYJ unfortunately this bus has now been stripped for parts and scrapped which personally feels like a crime to me…Long live the Citaro… The interior of the vehicle had clearly had a hard life and there were signs of neglect which I can only assume has occurred in the recent weeks up to its withdrawal from service, I always found the 2 door bendy bus layout a little weird and I believe only the UK ones that ended up outside London are in the config. The cab was actually surprisingly in good condition and clearly, some effort had been made to maintain it in this way, if you ever have to endure any of Arriva High Wycombe Citaro's have a look in the cab next time and you’ll see holes and gaps where buttons should be, various warning lights taped over, smashed/broken screens and door buttons all over the place etc etc. For some reason, Go-Ahead has specified door buttons on the right-hand side in the Citaro, which has always puzzled me. Every other company has them on the left hand side of the dash which they feel at home, but Go-Ahead know best... Exterior wise everything was in really good condition, no obvious body damage and panels in good shape, something that was a bonus was that this bus was still fitted with the factory Merc mirrors that are electric and heated and they really are something else compared to the cheaper ones that Stagecoach specified their fleet with, they have a fisheye type mirror at the top that shows the front N/S corner of the bus and means always you to know exactly how close you are to the kerb and anything in front of you, the view from both this and the main mirror gives you an excellent view of the bus and way better than that useless TfL spec yellow mirror that has now taken over pretty much all TfL buses but that’s another story… To drive was a bit different to how I thought it would be, I’ve driven Citaro’s before and a Citaro G both of which were fitted with the 6.3L OM906 hLA engine, but this final batch of Citaro G’s for London were fitted with the much bigger, slightly more powerful and refined 12L OM457hLA engine normally found in small trucks and coaches, from the cab it is near silent, you couldn't even tell that the bus was running, and tbh after doing a walk around check on it, when I got back in the cab I thought it had actually cut out  but no, it was still running. Due to the position, it had been parked in, it was a little challenge to get out without damaging anything and it was the first time I had moved one with stuff around it, with care I managed to do a 270 degree turn and leave the yard, much to my amazement in how tight it was able to perform this manoeuvre, that wouldn't have been possible in a normal rigid bus. I left the yard and proceeded to Aveley to follow the Ensingbus 22 route into Ockendon, coming down Mill Road and turning left into Aveley High Street, it made the turn with no problem, no extra steering or having to take it super wide, it made the turn with no issue, just as any conventional bus would, this is the same turn that many people have come a cropper on, especially in the Tri Axle's, as I proceeded down the high street something I did notice immediately is that they don't like speed bumps, while these are only little humps in the road it felt anything but nice transversing over them even at slow speed, the fact that both the middle and rear axle are both duals doesn't help and it really threw me trying to gauge exactly where the wheels were, if you drive one you'll know what I mean as from the cab you can't always feel exactly how the bus feels from the back as the articulated section absorbs and sometimes redistributes the forces that the bus is under. The 4 speed votih gearbox was quite nice, shifts up early as there is so much torque but the application with a bigger engine was really smooth and refined, unlike a Streetdeck... Kickdown was working but from the cab, you could only really hear the turbo spooling up  a few more tight turns into Stifford Road/Foyle Drive and it really became apparent that you can take these almost anywhere, there is a point where the rear will cut in more than you'd like but I'd say with most turns as long as the middle axle is at least a foot away from the kerb, the rear will make it without having to worry, something that is hard to get your head around is that you pretty much want to go as far forward as possible and then turn sharply to make the turn as sharp as possible when you are in a limited space environment, and if you get this wrong and turn to early, you'll likely find yourself in a position you would rather not be in. If you get stuck in one of these, there is only one way out... BACK... something else that takes a bit of getting used to is bus stops, unless they have been designed for more than one bus, they just stick out massively (See Pic). After a trip around Ockendon and being impressed with how they turned, I thought I'd have a go with the Usk Road Estate and again no issue.  I really would have loved to drive these in-service, be it in London or anywhere else in the UK, it seems like a lot of fun and if you didn't know, the Citaro is probably one of the best-built buses and designed for driver comfort. Something that many other manufacturers don't always take into consideration. Now I did get the chance to reverse one in the yard as the shunters just wanted to laugh at me. The key is, small movements, no crazy angles, no fast steering, just little and slow movements, I'm sure with practice, you'll be proficient in this and gain speed with time, reversing in a 90-degree turn to get the bus dead straight took me 3 attempts, It would have been 2 but I wanted it dead straight, unfortunately, this bus didn't have a reversing camera and without a doubt, it is hard to gauge exactly where the rear of the bus is even more so when you can't see the rear 3rd of it, so I was happy I had 2 people watching me back in the yard. |
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Post by VPL630 on Nov 27, 2022 12:36:47 GMT
So, after 7 years (4 of which at Stagecoach), 4 months and a few days, yesterday Saturday 26th was my last duty at Ensignbus as a full-time driver/yard shunter/do anything person. I have gained employment elsewhere to do something non-bus related which I am very much looking forward to.
The last few months at Ensingbus I've mainly worked in the yard as a shunter/do anything person and have really enjoyed it, going on film jobs at late notice, private hire trips, bus collections, E-rail etc and generally just moving buses about our 4 current yards. I chose to come off full-time service driving as it was really starting to get to me, the amount of aggro we were getting on a daily basis for just providing a service was getting ridiculous and it's something that a lot of drivers have commented on since covid and it's been a contributing factor to why so many drivers have been leaving, there is little the company can do, they pay pretty decently and they look after you but the job is just aggravating, it's not even Thurrock related, just in general the way bus drivers are treated by members of the public is on another level.
I have enjoyed my time at Ensingbus and I have done lots of different things, I've taken buses all across the south coast from places such as Dover or as far down as Porthsmouth, and as far up as King's Lynn on rail replacement, I've learn how to drive a Crash gearbox, RT and RM buses, I've driven an American Coach, School Bus and recently a Rapid Transit Series bus, I've taken countless different types of buses for Road test including a Bendy Buses, Coaches, almost the entire Yellow Buses Streetlite fleet (purchased by EB) which will be the absolute death of me I'm so glad I never have to see another one of them again. Met people from all over the UK when they have come to collect their purchases or drop off buses for sale. I've seen E400's cut into sections for weight testing, various preserved buses come for MOT, met a guy who is rebuilding an RT using copies of the original blueprints from LT, found out that it's £190 to tow a bendy bus through the Dartford Tunnel but free to go over the bridge..., done various festival jobs which are always a laugh, driven a Metro and a Titan and in general I've had a wonderful time. I may still be doing the occasional job here and there but for now anyway, onto something bigger and better, literally.
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Post by borneobus on Nov 27, 2022 14:06:56 GMT
So, after 7 years (4 of which at Stagecoach), 4 months and a few days, yesterday Saturday 26th was my last duty at Ensignbus as a full-time driver/yard shunter/do anything person. I have gained employment elsewhere to do something non-bus related which I am very much looking forward to. The last few months at Ensingbus I've mainly worked in the yard as a shunter/do anything person and have really enjoyed it, going on film jobs at late notice, private hire trips, bus collections, E-rail etc and generally just moving buses about our 4 current yards. I chose to come off full-time service driving as it was really starting to get to me, the amount of aggro we were getting on a daily basis for just providing a service was getting ridiculous and it's something that a lot of drivers have commented on since covid and it's been a contributing factor to why so many drivers have been leaving, there is little the company can do, they pay pretty decently and they look after you but the job is just aggravating, it's not even Thurrock related, just in general the way bus drivers are treated by members of the public is on another level. I have enjoyed my time at Ensingbus and I have done lots of different things, I've taken buses all across the south coast from places such as Dover or as far down as Porthsmouth, and as far up as King's Lynn on rail replacement, I've learn how to drive a Crash gearbox, RT and RM buses, I've driven an American Coach, School Bus and recently a Rapid Transit Series bus, I've taken countless different types of buses for Road test including a Bendy Buses, Coaches, almost the entire Yellow Buses Streetlite fleet (purchased by EB) which will be the absolute death of me I'm so glad I never have to see another one of them again. Met people from all over the UK when they have come to collect their purchases or drop off buses for sale. I've seen E400's cut into sections for weight testing, various preserved buses come for MOT, met a guy who is rebuilding an RT using copies of the original blueprints from LT, found out that it's £190 to tow a bendy bus through the Dartford Tunnel but free to go over the bridge..., done various festival jobs which are always a laugh, driven a Metro and a Titan and in general I've had a wonderful time. I may still be doing the occasional job here and there but for now anyway, onto something bigger and better, literally. Good luck in your new job / career and thanks for sharing your varied experiences with Ensignbus that's a really interesting insight to non industry bods like myself - I know it wasn't meant to be funny but I did chuckle at the "It's not even Thurrock related" line! |
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Post by greenboy on Nov 27, 2022 14:32:41 GMT
So, after 7 years (4 of which at Stagecoach), 4 months and a few days, yesterday Saturday 26th was my last duty at Ensignbus as a full-time driver/yard shunter/do anything person. I have gained employment elsewhere to do something non-bus related which I am very much looking forward to. The last few months at Ensingbus I've mainly worked in the yard as a shunter/do anything person and have really enjoyed it, going on film jobs at late notice, private hire trips, bus collections, E-rail etc and generally just moving buses about our 4 current yards. I chose to come off full-time service driving as it was really starting to get to me, the amount of aggro we were getting on a daily basis for just providing a service was getting ridiculous and it's something that a lot of drivers have commented on since covid and it's been a contributing factor to why so many drivers have been leaving, there is little the company can do, they pay pretty decently and they look after you but the job is just aggravating, it's not even Thurrock related, just in general the way bus drivers are treated by members of the public is on another level. I have enjoyed my time at Ensingbus and I have done lots of different things, I've taken buses all across the south coast from places such as Dover or as far down as Porthsmouth, and as far up as King's Lynn on rail replacement, I've learn how to drive a Crash gearbox, RT and RM buses, I've driven an American Coach, School Bus and recently a Rapid Transit Series bus, I've taken countless different types of buses for Road test including a Bendy Buses, Coaches, almost the entire Yellow Buses Streetlite fleet (purchased by EB) which will be the absolute death of me I'm so glad I never have to see another one of them again. Met people from all over the UK when they have come to collect their purchases or drop off buses for sale. I've seen E400's cut into sections for weight testing, various preserved buses come for MOT, met a guy who is rebuilding an RT using copies of the original blueprints from LT, found out that it's £190 to tow a bendy bus through the Dartford Tunnel but free to go over the bridge..., done various festival jobs which are always a laugh, driven a Metro and a Titan and in general I've had a wonderful time. I may still be doing the occasional job here and there but for now anyway, onto something bigger and better, literally. Good luck in your new career, sounds like you had an interesting time with Ensign. I can understand what you say, so many drivers leaving the industry for similar reasons. |
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but no, it was still running. Due to the position, it had been parked in, it was a little challenge to get out without damaging anything and it was the first time I had moved one with stuff around it, with care I managed to do a 270 degree turn and leave the yard, much to my amazement in how tight it was able to perform this manoeuvre, that wouldn't have been possible in a normal rigid bus. 
a few more tight turns into Stifford Road/Foyle Drive and it really became apparent that you can take these almost anywhere, there is a point where the rear will cut in more than you'd like but I'd say with most turns as long as the middle axle is at least a foot away from the kerb, the rear will make it without having to worry, something that is hard to get your head around is that you pretty much want to go as far forward as possible and then turn sharply to make the turn as sharp as possible when you are in a limited space environment, and if you get this wrong and turn to early, you'll likely find yourself in a position you would rather not be in. If you get stuck in one of these, there is only one way out... BACK... something else that takes a bit of getting used to is bus stops, unless they have been designed for more than one bus, they just stick out massively (See Pic). After a trip around Ockendon and being impressed with how they turned, I thought I'd have a go with the Usk Road Estate and again no issue.
