Considering a job as a bus driver? Here are some things you should know

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As you may have heard earlier this week, TransLink is looking to hire close to 500 new bus drivers this year.

You might be curious about what the job entails, so NEWS 1130 set about getting the details.

First off, new hires get full time right off the bat for the conventional buses, but there could be some part-time shifts for driving community shuttles.

Starting pay? Twenty-two dollars an hour which goes up to $31.46/hr after two years on the job.

Drivers don’t get lunch breaks per se. They eat when they have some time at the end of their routes.

Steve Sutherland is president of Local 111, the union representing drivers.

He says they need to have a certain personality to tackle congestion and sometimes difficult riders.

“Drivers need patience and not let things bother them. They have to realize their job is to pick people off and drop them off. We deal with people from all walks of life. It can be stressful.”

Plus there’s the occasional violence.

“We have drivers that are spit on. I don’t want to make it sound like this is a horrible job, but that stuff does happen. It’s out there.”

Sutherland says new hires will likely get routes in Vancouver since more senior drivers choose the suburbs.

Sutherland has been a driver for 35 years and points out his pension will be pretty good.

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