Learn how to drive a bus in Sheffield

The Star, Sheffield

Realise, in partnership with South Yorkshire Combined Authority, Route to Success scheme. People could drive a bus and learn more about the scheme to become a bus driver.

Transcript

00:00 Hi, I'm Kirsty at the Sheffield Star and I'm here today to drive a bus.

00:05 So I'm at the Utility Sheffield Arena.

00:09 Today we're running a Bus Driving Experience Day in South Yorkshire

00:19 to encourage people to come and have a go as a go driving a bus

00:24 to see if they could be interested in bus driving as a career.

00:27 Brilliant, and why have you decided to set this event up?

00:30 So we've been setting up this course, we work in partnership with South Yorkshire Combined Authority

00:35 to look at how we can support the driver shortage of bus drivers within South Yorkshire

00:41 and how we can encourage a different demographic into the bus driving industry

00:46 where you can come along to one of our courses and experience life as a bus driver

00:52 through having a go with a bus and understand that life of a bus driver.

00:56 So consider that as a career.

00:59 Brilliant, when you say a different demographic, what do you mean by that?

01:02 So looking at the younger demographic of actually, you could be 19 and have a go with driving a bus

01:09 so you've just got your driving licence, which you don't normally consider that you can go and drive a large vehicle

01:14 after just passing your car test. So it's almost like considering it a career at any age.

01:19 And also looking from a female demographic as well, where the bus driving industry has got a lot of males within it

01:27 but actually we've got two of our trainers that have been ladies that have been in the industry for 30 plus years

01:33 so you can actually consider it for any age, any sex, any demographic.

01:39 You just saw me driving the bus, probably need a little bit more practice at that one before I hit the road.

01:45 The brake is a lot more sensitive than I thought it would be. I've never driven an automatic either so that was a bit different.

01:53 But yeah, good fun. I can see why people enjoy bus driving.

01:59 So yeah, you're all going to have to make sure to keep an eye out for any future events that they hold

02:04 and just come and give it a go. You just need to be age 19 and over and have a full driving licence.

02:09 So we're here today because of the training scheme that we have funded.

02:12 That's £385,000 to train up 200 new bus drivers so that we can support the transport network across South Yorkshire.

02:19 We've been told by the bus companies, the bus companies that largely run the network in South Yorkshire

02:24 that they didn't have enough bus drivers so we've stepped in so that we can train the bus drivers of the future

02:29 because we're doing everything we can to try and protect the bus network in South Yorkshire that our community is reliant on.

02:35 Fabulous. So this scheme by Realise is one that South Yorkshire is backing?

02:40 Yeah, so we're funding this scheme to the tune of about £385,000 through our skills budget

02:46 so that we can train those drivers that the bus companies tell us they so desperately need.

02:50 The bus services in South Yorkshire are on their knees and that is largely as a result of government funding cuts

02:55 to the public transport budget so they haven't given us as much money as they used to.

02:59 We're getting about half the money that we thought we were going to get and as a result we're seeing funding cuts in South Yorkshire

03:04 and therefore bus cuts. So we're stepping in and doing everything we can, not just with our public transport budget

03:09 budget but with our skills budget as well to make sure that we can try and

03:12 support the network.

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