Trainee Bus Driver - Southall and Hayes

Trainee Bus Driver - Southall and Hayes

Application Deadline: 31 August 2026

Department: Trainee Drivers

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Southall and Hayes Depot

Compensation: £14.80 - £17.30 / hour


Description

Trainee Bus Driver - Southall and Hayes

Tourists flying in and out of Heathrow Airport. Rugby fans lining the stands at Twickenham. Weekenders soaking up the sun in Trafalgar Square.

London’s fleet of buses is the red line connecting all these dots. And in each bus is a driver making sure people get where they want to go.

We’re nothing without our drivers. So we’re looking for a new generation of future superstars to join our training to become a bus driver.

Our Bus Driver Training Programme

We’ll train you to drive a London Bus. You’ll spend roughly 4-6 weeks learning to drive a London Bus and getting your licence at our Battersea based training depot. After that you’ll go straight to your depot for your local induction and route learning, you’ll then be out on the road as a bus driver.

During your training. You’ll work shifts for at least 38 hours a week. This will include classroom and practical driving training, which will see you working early mornings and late nights, and weekends and bank holidays.

Who we are

We’re the team behind hundreds of buses zipping across London, with over 150 million customers a year. We couldn’t do it without our drivers – so we offer some of the best salaries and benefits in the business.

Key Responsibilities

You’ll need to:
  • be 18 years old or over
  • have a UK bank account and valid Right to Work documents
  • have a full UK driving licence (category B) with at least 6 months experience driving in the UK
  • no more than six penalty points - please contact us if you have a drink/drug related endorsement on your licence 
  • computer literate.
You’ll also:
  • be one of those above-and-beyond types, keeping an eye on your customers health and safety and making sure your vehicle’s always in good condition
  • be willing to learn, with a positive attitude to your own development and training
  • have an eye for detail
  • have a ‘right first time’ attitude.
  • Where you’ll work
Where you’ll work

After 4-6 weeks at our Battersea depot, we’ll take your home address into account and usually, but not always, the nearest garage where we’re short of drivers will become your new depot. Wherever that is, you’ll need to be able to get there quickly any time of day or night, and ideally without using a car (our car parks can get seriously busy). 

Benefits

As part of your training, you’ll get:

An hourly rate of £14.80 per hour, rising to  £16.30 - £17.30 per hour on completion of your training
  • training for your Driver Certificate of Professional Competence card (CPC)
  • free theory and practical driving tests
  • full training for the routes and services you will be driving
Working for us means you get lots of benefits on top of your salary, including:

  • free travel on all TFL routes for you and a friend or family member (once you’ve worked with us for three months, value c.£8,000) 
  • training and development
  • an annual safe driving bonus, and high street vouchers for good performance
  • access to our contributory pension scheme – you put in 5% of your salary each month and we’ll add 3% on top
  • life insurance (if you sign up to the pension scheme)
  • salary sacrifice benefits – you can choose to get things like a new laptop, smart watch, TV or phone in return for slightly less pay
  • discounts from shops and retailers – including Apple, Adidas, Nike, Vue, Odeon, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and more
  • eye test vouchers
  • free help from our employee assistance programme to support you personally and at work
  • opportunities to increase your income through our annual safe driving bonus, our refer a friend scheme and by being awarded our golden tickets for excellent driving and customer service
Back to blog

Other Jobs To Apply

No other job posts for this day.

Common Interview Questions And Answers

1. HOW DO YOU PLAN YOUR DAY?

This is what this question poses: When do you focus and start working seriously? What are the hours you work optimally? Are you a night owl? A morning bird? Remote teams can be made up of people working on different shifts and around the world, so you won't necessarily be stuck in the 9-5 schedule if it's not for you...

2. HOW DO YOU USE THE DIFFERENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS?

When you're working on a remote team, there's no way to chat in the hallway between meetings or catch up on the latest project during an office carpool. Therefore, virtual communication will be absolutely essential to get your work done...

3. WHAT IS "WORKING REMOTE" REALLY FOR YOU?

Many people want to work remotely because of the flexibility it allows. You can work anywhere and at any time of the day...

4. WHAT DO YOU NEED IN YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE TO SUCCEED IN YOUR WORK?

With this question, companies are looking to see what equipment they may need to provide you with and to verify how aware you are of what remote working could mean for you physically and logistically...

5. HOW DO YOU PROCESS INFORMATION?

Several years ago, I was working in a team to plan a big event. My supervisor made us all work as a team before the big day. One of our activities has been to find out how each of us processes information...

6. HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE CALENDAR AND THE PROGRAM? WHICH APPLICATIONS / SYSTEM DO YOU USE?

Or you may receive even more specific questions, such as: What's on your calendar? Do you plan blocks of time to do certain types of work? Do you have an open calendar that everyone can see?...

7. HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE FILES, LINKS, AND TABS ON YOUR COMPUTER?

Just like your schedule, how you track files and other information is very important. After all, everything is digital!...

8. HOW TO PRIORITIZE WORK?

The day I watched Marie Forleo's film separating the important from the urgent, my life changed. Not all remote jobs start fast, but most of them are...

9. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A MEETING AND PREPARE A MEETING? WHAT DO YOU SEE HAPPENING DURING THE MEETING?

Just as communication is essential when working remotely, so is organization. Because you won't have those opportunities in the elevator or a casual conversation in the lunchroom, you should take advantage of the little time you have in a video or phone conference...

10. HOW DO YOU USE TECHNOLOGY ON A DAILY BASIS, IN YOUR WORK AND FOR YOUR PLEASURE?

This is a great question because it shows your comfort level with technology, which is very important for a remote worker because you will be working with technology over time...