I tried driving a bus in Leeds during a major recruitment drive - and I was not prepared for what happened

Since August last year training company Realise, with the backing of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, has been running the scheme, which sees people over the age of 19 from the local area given the chance to train to be a bus driver.

As part of it, a bus driver experience day was held on Wednesday at the John Charles Centre For Sport in Leeds where people interested in learning more were given the chance to spend an hour doing a virtual reality exercise and actually driving a proper bus to get a taster of what a potential career in the industry would represent.

I decided to go along for for a number of reasons.

Firstly to highlight the very real need for more bus drivers in the region, secondly, to develop my journalistic chops and thirdly, to rub it in the face of a friend of mine who was recently waxing lyrical about how difficult it is driving a van.

Spite can be a powerful motivator.

It’s no secret that the bus services in Leeds have their issues, with complaints regularly aired of delays in the service and certain buses not turning up at all.

Chris French, the head of learning experience, said that a shortage of bus drivers was an issue felt across the country and that this is down to a number of factors, including the aging workforce and the lure of other roles during the Covid pandemic such as delivering for the likes of Amazon and ASOS.

He went on to say that since the recruitment drive was launched last year, 150 people have been taken through their five-day programme, which he said concludes with a guaranteed interview.

The training involves learning to drive the bus as well as looking at the customer service aspect and other matters that make you a perfect fit for this vital role in the community.

Of those 150 who’ve gone through the training, he said that 60 have so far gone on to full time employment at one of the bus companies that operates in the region.

To begin my initiation into an alternative career path, I first undertook the virtual reality exercise led by Chris where, after strapping on the hefty goggles, I was suddenly transported from the sports centre in Leeds to a bus depot in London.

We than ran through a few hazard perception tests that saw me placed in the midst of the capital and behind the wheel of the bus.

I was challenged with highlighting the various potential threats on the busy road, such as Deliveroo riders, pedestrians and taxis.

While being urged to focus on my mirrors to spot for cyclists and get a feel for my surroundings, the difficulty of being in control of such a big contraption was starting to feel ever more real.

Afterwards the real challenge began.

We had a walk down to the centre’s car park where the monolithic metal contraption that I was about to be in control of was waiting for me.

My tutor, Andy Price, took me around the car park the one time and emphasised the constant need to monitor the mirrors to check the positioning; in particular the back wheels when navigating a corner.

But when it came for my turn to sit in the hot seat, the feeling of unpreparedness hit my like a bus.

While pushing the buttons to open and close the door was straight-forward (and enjoyable) enough, the fact I hadn’t driven for a couple of months since I sold my car couldn’t help add to the sense that I was massively out of my depth.

The fact that I was being filmed and had five other prospective bus drivers watching me as they waited for their turn didn’t help the nerves much either.

There wasn’t the huge gear stick I was expecting, so getting the automatic vehicle going wasn’t too much of an issue.

Unleashing the handbrake and giving a little hit on the accelerator and we were away.

But as Andy stressed, the brake pedal was very sensitive to the touch, meaning there was a few jolts as we approached the first bend.

Driving all the way across the imaginary road to give room to navigate around the U-turn, the bus was feeling bigger and bigger with every second and the back wheels looked like they were at the other end of the car park.

Almost by fate though I was able to clear it and was left heaving the giant steering wheel to straighten it up.

Despite the sensory overload I was able to clear the second turn and I felt I was getting the hang of it but, inevitably, hubris struck on the third go as the back wheel clipped the curb.

With just enough time to give a salute to another imaginary bus driver, I navigated the final turn and then pulled up, yanked on the handbrake and opened the doors to what will hopefully have been a more successful bunch than myself.

Realise explained that a bus driver can expect a salary of between £24,000 and £30,000 depending on the operator they become employed by.

Their ongoing ‘Route To Success’ scheme is being held until the summer.

To find out more visit their website.