Women on the recruitment fast track with Translink

Currently Translink has over 1,700 drivers, but only 150 of them are women, and it is an imbalance that Translink is keen to see change.

To this end, the transport company hosted two ‘Have A Go’ days on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, and due to unprecedented demand from potential women employees, are offering another taster session on November 5. Over the two days last week around 70 women signed up to get behind the wheel, including myself and my colleague Erin Hutcheon at the Journal.

The aim of the ‘Have a Go’ days is to encourage more women to consider a career driving buses as well as to reduce the negative perceptions of bus driving being a male-only career. The last time the company ran this type of event in 2008 74 people attended, with 23 ladies (around 30 per cent) applying. It led to six ladies being recruited.

The longest-serving female member of the bus driving team is Joan Black, who has been driving for 25 years.

Asked why so few women apply for the job as a bus driver, Translink PRO, Ursula Kelleher said: “Many see it as a male-dominated industry or role and think it’s not for them. There may also be the fear factor of driving such a large vehicle but we operate with modern vehicles much like a modern car making driving large vehicles much easier to manoeuvre.”

Far from being an office-based job, a driver will travel about 150 miles each day, and in addition to job security, according to Ursula there is a significant amount of customer care involved as bus driving requires the driver to interact with the public and the local community. There is family-friendly shifts, part-time post mostly on Ulstebuses and full-time jobs, mostly on the Metro service in Belfast, and promotion opportunities are also available.

“This can be a highly rewarding career with job satisfaction though providing a service to the entire community. Around 68 million journeys are made by bus every year as people depend on the bus to get them to work, schools, university, hospital appointments as well as social and leisure activities. In addition many of our drivers are invlolved in delivering services for many of the key events across Northern Ireland such as the Irish Open, WPFG, Fleadh, G8, other major sporting and concert events. Also in 2012 Tram Translink were involved in delivering transport services for the 2012 Olympics in London,” said Ursula.

Those keen to try bus driving as a possible career can take part in the next Have a Go day on November 5, by contacting Translink or they can simply contact the organisation and ask for an application form.

If the application form is short listed, applicants will be asked to attend an assessment day where they will complete verbal and written tests, then invited back for a short driving test followed by an interview, after which they will be placed on a waiting list until a position becomes available.

Women interested in finding out more can do so by contacting HR officer Deborah Bell on [email protected] or telephone 028 9089 9433. Booking is essential to secure a Translink Have A Go Day session.

Billed as a ‘unique opportunity’ to introduce women to bus driving as a potential career, I signed up to have a go myself after my colleague, Erin in the Journal contacted me and said “What about it... I will if you will’.

Not one to pass up a challenge I said ‘OK’.

If I’m honest, driving a large vehicle has been one of my ‘I have to do this before I’m 50’ challenges. I’m delighted that I’ve achieved it, although I really was nervous going to bed on Tuesday night.

So it was that my alarm went off at 5am on Wednesday, and I dragged myself out of by pit to get the train at 6am, meeting Erin at the train station.

Filled with nervous energy and not sure what to expect, we made the journey to Belfast and killed time before getting the shuttle bus that had been laid on for us, which took us to Nutts Corner and the Transport Centre for an information session with Jane Montgomery, an Translink Ulsterbus Manager and Catherine McGeough, a Translink Metro bus driver.

The staff at Translink could not have been nicer to us, and we were soon regaled with stories and real life events experienced by Jane and her colleague Catherine McGeough, a Translink Metro bus driver.

The Translink drivers are a close-knit bunch and there is a strong sense of camaraderie and support among them. Women drivers and those with family needs are offered family-friendly shifts during term-time, and far from being a faceless person doing a thankless task, the drivers become friends with customers on the regular routes they drive, and, according to Jane, perform a variety of roles, from sympathetic ear to protectors of children, and receive a myriad of training including what to do in emergency situations - something you don’t think about when you board a bus as a passenger.

Information session over, Erin and I were plucked from the group of around 12 women in our session and taken by car to Nutts Corner race track, for our driving lesson - which, I have to say, un-nerved me a little. Although, I in truth, I had been dreading being told I would have to drive on the open road (meeting me behind the wheel of a bus would probably be a terrifying thought for most folks reading this too, I’d imagine). In fact, I may as well come completely clean; I had visions of me crashing the bus through hedges and reversing into bollards as I tried to nod off on Tuesday night.

So, as torrential rain began to fall, Erin and I made our choice; Metro bus (pink), luxury coach (comfy seats), standard bus (a bit too ordinary) or double decker...

We plumped for the double decker and were introduced to our driver - Wilfie Ward, the lead instructor with Translink. We must have looked dangerous.

It was at this point that I discovered that as nervous as I was, Erin was even most anxious, and she opted for the first driving lesson, while I filmed her. Given instruction on the operating of the handbrake, foot pedals, putting the bus into drive mode and how to stop (highly important piece of info that...) Erin eased her foot off the brake and the huge bus chugged into life.

Timorously easing the bus around the race track with Wilfie at her side the whole way offering advice and instruction, Erin made the second lap, a little faster this time, on her own.

By this stage my stomach was lurching around and I couldn’t remember a thing Wilfie had told Erin... so the poor man had to put me through the basics at the roadside once again.

Regular Sentinel readers will know that a few weeks ago I did a story about a lovely wee woman called Maisie Crawford, who got her wish to drive a monster Army truck. Well, I’m not far behind her in the lack of height stakes. The seat was lowered and brought forward as far as possible, but still my little legs were not big enough to reach the pedals unless I sat right forward in the seat, meaning my back did not touch the back of the driver’s chair. Comments were made about finding a back support, but I declined, anxious to get it over with and make my way round the race track with as little fuss as possible.

So it was, with my wee Size 4s hovering against the metal pedals, that I hesitantly took the handbrake off and put her into drive mode. Lifting my foot off the brake the bus began to move forward. Gripping the wheel I grimly began to turn the steering wheel to avoid hitting the pretty pink Metro bus in front of me.

I have to say I was totally surprised at how light the steering was. I had it in my head that I would have to manhandle the controls, but nothing could have been further than the truth. I was breaking sweat at the prospect of making a complete fool of myself, not because I was unable to control the massive double decker.

The first time round the track Wilfie made soothing noises in just the right places, and then I was on my own: Driving a massive bus.

The track was well thought out and tested us well. I encountered sharp right-hand bends, inclines and declines, a narrowing of the road as well as an overhead obstacle which had the potential to damage the upper saloon of the bus if my spacial judgement was out even by a little, and to boot there was another driver on the pretty pink Metro bus. I figured avoiding them might be a good idea as I had no desire to cope the double decker. So I tested the brakes (several times) and my passengers did not seem to mind being rocked about as I tried my best to keep my driving as smooth as possible.

All too soon it was over and I was being instructed to pull over and put the bus into neutral and pull the handbrake on again. But it was magic, too. I loved it.

Had it been a driving test I would have failed miserably, but boy did I have a ball. It was an amazing experience.

All I can say is, if you are sitting reading this thinking, ‘I’d love to give that a go and see if I could be a bus driver’ don’t just think it. Contact Translink and see if you can get yourself on the next taster session. I’ve included contact info with this article and those of you reading online just have to hover and click on the blue links.

Good luck!