Arriva Bus Employee Reviews

Overall, not a bad place to work. Are they flexible? Within limits. Are they friendly? Yes, on the whole. Is the training good? Yes, the initial training is good - can't comment much on the ongoing training as I didn't stay here long enough to see it.The troubles of bus driving are often related to the passengers or other road users. There are problems, of course there are, but largely speaking they're beyond the control of depot management. Some of the schedules can be very difficult to stick to, for example.Shifts can be a range of times, some start early (about 0430), others finish late (about 0030). That's the nature of a bus operation. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. That said, there are a few different rotas, so there's a good chance one will suit you.The pay is pretty good as the union is extremely militant, and I personally liked being on weekly pay. It's not sunshine and rainbows, it's swings and roundabouts. I left not because of the company, but because of the passengers - and I wanted a bit more variety in what I did.

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Decent team

PCV Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Ashington - 21 November 2023

Workplace culture is good, hours totally mess up your body clock. I found overall a very supportive environment, with training second to none.However, the mission goals about safe and environmentally friendly driving and customer care were totally at odds with the tight deadlines and unrealistic timetables.The job was very stressful, and the discontent of passengers seemed to be at the lower end of the priorities of the owners and decision makers of Arriva.Locally however the management was good.Initially, the pay looks half okay, but when you take in the responsibilities, of which the driver takes the brunt, I don’t think I would go back even if they paid double.A final warning is, that if you cannot work for 2 years after they have provided training, they will claw back their investment.. in one big lump

Pros

Good teammates

Cons

Hours all over the place

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It’s just a job bad hours

PCV Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Liverpool - 21 November 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?Not much you get your money you get a bus pass and uniformWhat is the most stressful part about working at the company?Dealing with general public and Arriva management What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Works on rules discipline ,Quite a nasty management What is a typical day like for you at the company?Jest. Stressful nothing much to find pleasant about the job

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Good

PCV Bus Driver (Current Employee) - London - 9 November 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?The boss and manager and the office staff 👌 What is the most stressful part about working at the company?No sense driver's in the route What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Responsibility and professionally which care about drivers

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Stressful but good shift patterns

Bus Driver (Current Employee) - Gillingham, Kent - 12 October 2023

I have been working for Arriva for several years. It is very monotone, the buses are old and break down a lot. Pay is ok but you have to fight for any raise.

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Insights into Arriva Bus

Based on 79 survey responses

What people like

Fair pay for job
Supportive environment
Clear sense of purpose

Areas for improvement

Time and location flexibility
Sense of belonging
Support from manager

Don't go there

Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Leicester - 21 September 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?There is no best working for arrivaWhat is the most stressful part about working at the company?Everything about arriva is stressful

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Early and late shifts

Driver (Former Employee) - Stockton - 17 September 2023

Good team of lads and lasses , customers are ok some are awful and treat you like dirt management are not helpful as never there when you need them , pay has improved over the years

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Good workplace

Bus Driver (Former Employee) - North London, Greater London - 15 September 2023

Had no issues, came in to work and when finished went home, enjoyed my time there.As long as you do your job and driver how the instructor teaches you, you will be fine

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Good Job, has it's issues but Job doesn't?

Bus Driver (Current Employee) - Coalville - 10 September 2023

So a typical day at would be running a service for over 4 hours and then having an hours break to then sometimes run another 4/4 and half hours.This job learns you to better yourself as a driver and to identify the idiots on the road, to then in turn avoid a potential accident or incident.

Pros

• Free staff pass, • Friendly staff and management

Cons

• Different levels of pay for different depots!, • unruly and angry passengers that will blame the driver for company's failings

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Probably the best of a bad bunch in this industry. Good job option for North Wales.

Bus Driver (Current Employee) - North Wales - 25 August 2023

Relatively good pay for the area. Enhanced pay for Sunday and Bank Holiday work. Good sick pay. Pension contributions. Uniform provided. 39 hour week. Overtime usually available. Always driver shortages. Shift patterns can be difficult for work / life balance. No need to fuel or clean buses, so that is a bonus. Awful communication, and everything is poorly implemented. Some drivers cope with it better than others. Just be prepared to let things slide and accept things are the way they are. You cannot change how it is. It's a backward industry where common sense and joined up thinking are not in abundance.

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Rotas are horrible .manage ment don’t take into consideration traffic road works so some shifts are bordering on being illegal

PCV Bus Driver (Current Employee) - Ashington - 20 August 2023

Typical day at work you ll do at least one five hour stint if you run late due to traffic or road works then you start eating in to your break .buses are dirty not cleaned properly .

Cons

Not family friendly .rotas are horrible .just a number

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Long hours and different shift patterns.

Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Telford, Shropshire - 7 August 2023

Not the worst place to work, when I worked there. They have different shift patterns including earlys, middle shifts which would usually be 12 hours and lates until midnight. Unfortunately you will get given all of the shifts with the early shifts being few and far between. Management not too bad, I never really had any issues. Money wasn’t great when I was there I believe it has gone up but not what drivers should be on no where near. The best thing about the place was the union which was brilliant and the colleges I work with but a lot have left like myself to go into hgv as the money is a lot better.

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Areas of poor leadership, poor attitudes and sometimes toxic

PCV Bus Driver (Current Employee) - Derby - 22 July 2023

I’ve been in the industry long enough to realise big problems with certain attitudes, running of my depot and management, very sad compared to what it once was

Pros

Free travel passes for family

Cons

Some long hours and aging fleet

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Probably a good environment with most people fairly pleasant 😊

Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Liverpool - 15 July 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?Good cameradi amongst drivers What is the most stressful part about working at the company?Trying to keep to times at different times of the day What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Alright at times other times not so good What is a typical day like for you at the company?Generally fairly pleasant and not always easy going with Desk inspectors.

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Love it

Driver (Current Employee) - Castleford, West Yorkshire - 13 July 2023

I love this job, co workers are lovely and get along really well. Only thing is the hours can be unsociable as you have really early shifts or really late shifts

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Productive and professional.

Bus Driver (Current Employee) - London - 9 July 2023

What is the best part of working at the company?Always busy. Good income. SteadyWhat is the most stressful part about working at the company?The passengers. Always problem. What is the work environment and culture like at the company?Good and professional. All the support needed. What is a typical day like for you at the company?Checks, duty card, bus take over and hit the time markers.

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Horrible place to work

PCV Driver (Former Employee) - St Helens, Merseyside - 27 June 2023

Awful job couldn't wait to find something else Thankfully I've left that dreadful company Union corrupt , management awful , shift patterns were terrible Not the best job for your mental health

Pros

Wages were OK

Cons

The management, supervisors, and union, I cant decide who were the worst

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Good workplace

Bus Driver (Current Employee) - Durham - 9 June 2023

Been here a short time but I've found that if you keep your nose clean and just do your job you will be left alone unlike other bus companies I have worked for in this area. While people claim supervisory and management teams are poor I have found them to be very helpful and supportive when needed.

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Excellent

Driver (Current Employee) - London, Greater London - 3 June 2023

Love working here in London. Very busy, lots of traffic but the day goes quick. Some long hours but overall company have been very helpful and supportive.

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horrible place to work

Vetting Officer (Former Employee) - Finsbury Park - 30 May 2023

A toxic place to work. I was offered a role and was then let go after disclosing my disability. I was only there a month and was then told it is a fast paced environment and due to my learning disability was not fit for the role and was what the team expected.

Pros

Free travel cost

Cons

discriminated directing

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Enjoyable but hard work

Bus Driver (Former Employee) - Aintree, Merseyside - 22 May 2023

Great colleagues but long hours. Lack of work life balance and holidays are rostered. Lots of chances to progress but long hours and may need to move depots

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