Getting official training to drive a bus.

[arfisher83]

I've been driving "Buscephus" now for over two years with no accidents. I just got behind the wheel on the day I bought her and drove, learning as I went. I am now in training to become a professional school bus driver with my class B CDL, passenger, school bus, and air brake endorsements included. It's quite exciting driving different buses and getting to experience how they handle. I just wish school bus drivers were paid more. Now I wonder, are there any other school bus drivers among us? Possibly retired school bus drivers?

-Adam

[wmah]

yep,
Although I don't do actual school routes. I do weekend runs only right now with an occasional weeknight if it is a late enough start. essentially the guy that keeps the weekday guys from going into overtime.

[kamoo]

I got my CDL at the local school board while in college. Its tough because the pay isnt all that great and you work a split shift. Youre at work at 5:30 am, back home at 9 and have to return at 1-2pm so basically your whole day is shot for about 6 hours of pay. I had to go to work, then go to class and from class back to work then back to school for a night class. I overslept alot and missed the morning shift to wake up to 50 messages asking if Im coming in but never got written up or fired, they were cool like that. Benefits were good and the people were very nice to work with, a whole mix of young old, retired etc. Then I drove a tow truck for awhile, schedule worked better for school but the job was worse, alot of 3am calls and weekends. Tried the dump truck thing too one summer during break, that was the most boring job I have ever had in my life!

[C00LR]

My dad taught me to drive the bus I have now when I was 17. That way he could just send me with it to my uncles to park it for him. Then later, when I was in the Air Force deployed to Bahrain our Chief asked if anybody knew how to drive a bus. Dummy me said "my dad owns one and I have driven it". That qualified me to drive the base shuttle so I wound up driving a 20 minute circle on the Air base in Bahrain. It was the most boring task I've ever been assigned. The only thing that made it fun for a minute on each circle was going through the zig zag vehicle entrapment. Until I noticed the .50 cal poking out of the nest on the Security Forces tower tracking me as I went through the zig zag. So I started seeing how fast I could go through it. Funny thing was that there were two accidents in that area and they were both Transportation folks that did it. Not me, the lowlier than dirt AMMO troop augmentee.
Because of the Chief remembering that I drove the bus in Bahrain I got to drive the RH drive English bus when we deployed to England. yay me!
Lesson learned... When in the military, NEVER volunteer for ANYTHING unless you know what you are volunteering for!!!

[brownidgirl]

I've been a school bus driver for 4 years. It is definitely and underpaid - under appreciated job. I love working with my kids but You get the blame for everything when something goes wrong. And driving my boyfriends bus (rv) is way different than driving a regular school bus.

[tcb]

My learning experience was the start of the 650ish mile drive home from New Jersey with the bus, I got to experience Philadelphia, PA traffic for about 2.5 hours to go 20miles, I learned quick to stick with the other bus drivers and all will be well. The short bus is not much different than a U-Haul.