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Welsh Recruitment

Welsh Recruitment meets ...

… a bus driver

(Picture: Newport Bus Serving the City, logo)

Andrew Parry has worked as a bus driver for Newport Bus for 7½ years. He chats to Welsh Recruitment about his day-to-day experiences of navigating the busy roads of Newport and beyond.

You work as a driver for Newport Bus. Explain to us where your route takes you.

My routes are mainly around Newport, and these can vary from day to day. This means that I can have any number of different duties to fulfil on a daily basis. Alternatively, I may be driving a private hire vehicle, in which case I may have to drive anywhere. For example, I have driven to Bristol Zoo, Wookey Hole and the Forest of Dean.

What was your job before you became a bus driver, and why did you decide to change jobs?

Before I became a bus driver I worked in the transport sector for the railway, carrying out train planning and organising the roster for train crews. I decided to change jobs as the company was centralising its operations in Doncaster following privatisation. A friend of mine was a driver at Newport Transport and suggested I should try it.

What processes were involved in getting the job?

Initially it was the usual process as with any application – fill in the form and hope they liked what I had to say. After I was offered the job, I underwent a period of training to obtain the ….. (continued on page 7)

(Picture: of a Newport Bus)