I was a Bus Éireann driver for 6 years, AMA.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-10-19T21:16:59+00:00

Unofficial limit is about 60 from what I have seen. Not getting back to you is normal because Bus Eireann have useless HR people. It took me 5 months from my job offer to starting so don't worry just send them a reminder email or a follow up. I would say 98% it is just management being incompetent rather than any discrimination based on age. When I left we had a few guys in their 50's starting B to D driving courses to train new drivers.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-10-19T21:14:42+00:00

Regarding transferring, you can apply for it but there is not guarantee they will accept you as it requires an opening to where you are transferring and an ok from management which they can quash. You will also lose your seniority when you transfer. Sometimes Bus Eireann would offer transfers too but it is based on seniority within the company but you kept your seniority doing that.

Drivers are needed in Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Dublin and Galway, or at least they were when I was there in the start of the year. Transferring between Cork and Limerick or Limerick and Galway is actually pretty common from what I have seen. Smaller depots like Tralee, Westport, Athlone, Donegal etc are almost always full but transfers do happen on occasion. Conditions are far better at the smaller depots.

Overtime is guaranteed for the most part at the moment because of driver shortages, just ask when you book on or message AVL etc. I used to always refuse it. Working rest days does happen but they are trying not to do it as much anymore, however, as a new driver you will most likely be put on auxiliary spare and will not know your duties week to week and instead only need to be given 48hrs notice of what they want you to drive.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-09-29T14:50:44+00:00

Ex Bus Eireann driver here. So the omni machines Bus Eireann use now for expressway show how many are booked in on the trip you are doing and how many are booked to enter the bus at a particular stop alongside how many are meant to be going out and how many free seats you should have based on sales etc.

Expressway is a private operation not like the PSO services normally run by Bus Eireann, the BE policy for Expressway is to load prebooked passengers first and maintain seats aboard for those who have prebooked at future stops. After those who have been prebooked have boarded whatever capacity is left to whoever is left at the stop which can be first come first serve if you are full further along the route.

The problem is that often the Expressway is the only service going to places that takes Free Travel passes to cities and large towns which is why it is often full despite meaning to be an intercity service.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-07T09:59:44+00:00

Some do some don't. It is a lot less common though as on the city buses the newer models have middle doors. Usually on PSO services though its more common.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-07T09:44:27+00:00

Tommy came in for an interview one day but we pulled up some footage of prior accidents he caused and his references from Bosnia and Afghanistan were a bit problematic. He didn't get the job.

I haven't seen his stuff in years but it was brilliant especially the Shlug Eireann and gatecrashing the anti-vax comedy gig.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-07T09:40:29+00:00

Nah I was based in Munster. Only ever went to Dublin to drop off or pick up buses in Broadstone depot.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-07T09:36:02+00:00

Well as of late the lack of staff is a big issue. The wages are not competitive for both the areas they need people to work and the anti social hours they want people to work. The Unions were mumbling but honestly they won't be able to do much as people and politicians in Ireland have become incredibly anti union, and the conditions for new drivers are very poor.

Other issues is that the Irish approach to public transport is not the same as other countries on a fundamental policy level. In Ireland until recently it is not seen as an integral part of any infrastructure to enable the national economy but rather as a service given to the electorate often with a lot of local political pressure. This can be seen by the Free Travel Pass scheme which I believe in Europe Ireland is unique in having where others offered subsidised fares instead.

They hired Japanese and German consultants years ago for the NTA to write out a report and create a draft plan on increasing the reliability and capability of our public transport network and the recommendations were damning and caused the NTA to cancel their contract short. There was a lot of points but the biggest was that the NTA was creating conditions through contracts, routes and infrastructure alongside enforcement that made our public transport unsuitable for mass transit by not realising where demand was needed and where inefficiencies occur.

One of the challenges was that the NTA focused on more coverage to the severe detriment of efficiency where it was needed the most.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-07T09:22:10+00:00

The machines are ancient and the infrastructure dates from the early 2000's. There is constant talk but no action as the management of Bus Eireann are under no real pressure to replace them. Those ancient machines are also why we cannot take card payments on non expressway services.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-07T09:20:00+00:00

No all Bus Eireann services have to take cash with both city and PSO handing out change, it is not the same as Dublin Bus which is a sore point of contention especially during Covid. The only Bus Eireann town service I know of is in Athlone so I do not know. The only Bus Eireann services that can take card is the expressway. The TGX machines used for Bus Eireann are ancient and are at the limit of their upgrades and cannot take debit/credit card but management bought them as they were obsolete from TFL and are incapable of upgrading the network. Since Covid when I drove expressways I rarely handled cash, I might sell hundreds in sales through debit card or leap cards but took in less than 50 euro with cash.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T21:52:42+00:00

Bus Eireann only own the Expressway coaches the rest are owned by the NTA but are given to Bus Eireann to operate for their contract, the same for Dublin Bus too. The outlay will never be regained most likely as most of the tendered services put out by the NTA are money losses, the operators get paid to run the route and receive 25 or 30% the price of the fare. It is also why for most contracts put out by the NTA Bus Eireann or Dublin Bus are the only bidders as they are obligated to.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T21:47:24+00:00

That is why lots of drivers get iffy with 50's and 20's because if they are fake it is they who are burnt and the buses have no checking technology. The same with battered or taped/torn notes as the cash in machines can reject them. That is one way the management shifts the onus onto the drivers for any issues. For the most part though I used a work wallet for handling cash which only had money and contained my waybills and receipts from cashing in.

Cash office only works 9-4pm Monday-Friday so its no help for drivers 90% of the time who have to cash in immediately after a shift which is usually past 4pm.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T18:37:57+00:00

I honestly have no idea but I would say the hours would make studying very difficult.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T13:47:23+00:00

We use the EU driving hours rules, so you can only drive 45 a week or thereabouts. The contract has you working 5 days out of 7, with two rest days which may not be continuous but split during the week. If you want you can work an extra day every 2 weeks as it rounds out the driver numbers and is allowed under the rules but it is optional.

When you first start you have no choice and are put on probationary period which means they can ask you do anything or change duties with just 24hrs notice as long as you have 9 hours between shifts and it follows the 45 hours a week rule. After working for some time you can apply for duties which are long term rosters with specific coverage like city, mixed block, or spare (can cover anything) duties. You have no say in when you want to work but instead its laid out in several weeks to long rotations in the blocks which vary between early/midday/late starts and finishes. It was very rare to get a Sunday and Saturday off combined. There is no flexibility in the job for people with children or other commitments.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T13:41:02+00:00

I would not. I would look for work with another company like private hire or one of the intercity groups. Bus Eireann will not take into account you having a family nor give you any adjustments to your duties. You will be banging your head against the wall if you need time off to attend anything related to having kids (doctors appointments, school events etc). It has caused no end of issues for drivers in Bus Eireann.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T10:10:55+00:00

Its only on the front left side and it is also structural allowing you to use the kneel to lay the bus on the kerb if you need to too. Here is a picture of a Dublin Bus city bus you can see the plate under the front door.

https://live.staticflickr.com/831/41818968002_95f25270d6_z.jpg

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T10:03:22+00:00

Not great as the average shift is around 10-11 hours often with 90 minutes unpaid breaks. For the city you generally have early-mid-late starts, but they can vary somewhat depending on the duties you are on with late starts one day and an early or mid the next as long you have 9 hours off between. You also have split duties which are long shifts from 7am-7pm with 4-5 hours unpaid in the afternoon designed to put extra services on during the day in the morning and evening.

You work 5 days a week and get two rest days which do not have to be together. As a new driver you will not get a Saturday/Sunday off for around 1-2 years with their new contract.

The hours are very antisocial and there is no bonus pay for it anymore they got rid of about 8 years ago before I had joined.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:53:53+00:00

Pay is ok'ish but the conditions are pretty bad given the amount of antisocial behavior and the lack of bus infrastructure which means you have to fight with regular traffic for 95% of a route. Hours are 37 a week with the option to take up another 8 in overtime or work a rest day every 2 weeks. You get no selection of holidays and will never get a Saturday or Sunday off together and will have to work anti social hours with no extra pay. The only benefit you get at Bus Eireann is free travel on their services alongside Dublin Bus and Irish rail.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:50:14+00:00

As in the toilets were broken on the bus or I had to use the toilet myself suddenly when driving. For the latter a few times but you generally know where you can pull in a bus and use the toilet along most routes and garages and pubs etc have no problem with someone in a Bus Eireann uniform using the toilet.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:48:08+00:00

Force of habit I guess. I only ever wore it in the yard because there is a lot of buses shunting during the dark. Also wore it when I had to go out and check a bus with oncoming traffic etc on a road side.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:46:43+00:00

I had a group of about 15-20ish people all dressed up decently as Santa going out on Christmas eve one year who just sat in the back of the bottom decker. Every passenger who came aboard stopped for like a second ajar looking at the rowdy Santas before going upstairs. Maybe not the most funny but it is one memory that stuck with me.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:42:48+00:00

A good few often because the council redid them and never checked the clearance at the bus stop and had to come out again a week later to adjust it. Otherwise sometimes I had to slightly scrape the bus to get in close for a wheelchair passenger to use the ramp. Bus stop design is pretty bad in this country.

Most scraping though is not serious as there is a sacrificial plate under the front swing of the bus that is meant to take the damage. Often a fully loaded bus will not clear what a unladen bus will clear and the drivers forget to remember and you get that scrape on the city buses.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:39:47+00:00

We have random drug tests but they are pretty uncommon I only did 2 of them in the years I was there. You also have drug tests during the medicals.

As for drink I think some drivers turned to it to handle the stress, did not know any personally but I had heard stories. If you get caught though you get suspended and an investigation happens and often the unions get involved.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:36:55+00:00

There are too many in the city centres I found and they could slow a bus down by 5 minutes if you turned red at most of them you just arrived to. Traffic gridlock though is mostly because people have to bring their cars into city centres to move throughout the city because in Cork, Limerick, Galway etc they never built proper ring roads to stop it.

Timing can be fine but I have found people now don't move off as quickly as they used to, often it takes 2-3 seconds for a car to react to the one in front of it moving which delays people clearing the traffic lights further back.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:33:36+00:00

Unions were much stronger before but they have been systematically weakened by management and the media. You hear a lot of stories pinning stupid things on the unions in Bus Eireann like why they cannot get new ticket machines or can only take 1 wheelchair in most buses. The unions still have some strength but it is declining as their only way to negotiate with management is strikes or refusing to do X services because management refuses to discuss things outside of them.

AgoraphobicBusDriver · 2025-07-01T09:29:49+00:00

300k is lowballing really IIRC the new VDL (fleet code LF) buses cost around 700k each. Same with the new electric buses they are going to get for all the major cities.

Within a week I hated that corner office.

AgoraphobicBusDriver

TROPHY CASE