What do coach drivers get as an incentive to visit shopping outlets,eg Boundary Mills

redux

I was buying breakfast in a motorway services after just getting back from abroad, and I asked if I could pay in euros.

The woman rang up one penny on the till.

It turned out she had completely misheard me and thought I said I was a coach driver.

She must have been a bit switched off, as there was no sudden queue.

colino

He would have got the pricely sum of £5 plus a meal for over one hour but less than two. For such a little incentive to him, I'd guess it was part of the journey to pad it out.

Fortyfoot

Thanks to every one for the comments, PateursNew gives the probable reason for this visit.

The driver seemed very pally with the management there, he rang to say we were on the way to them, we were welcomed on arrival and thanked on departure!

Tilt

nickcc wrote: »

Not sure where you get tha idea that Bus drivers are well paid, here in Cornwall both are poorly paid with the average hourly rate being just over £7. Also hours on duty and hours paid are usually two different things, 3 hrs per shift unpaid breaks are often the norm.

Did I say that? I said that coach drivers don't get as much as bus drivers. I have done both so I know what I am talking about.

nickcc

Tilt wrote: »

Did I say that? I said that coach drivers don't get as much as bus drivers. I have done both so I know what I am talking about.

So have I, badge No DD 52788 1966 until 2004. What you said was that Coach drivers are paid nowhere near as much as Bus drivers which, as I stated, is not correct here in Cornwall.

Tilt

nickcc wrote: »

So have I, badge No DD 52788 1966 until 2004. What you said was that Coach drivers are paid nowhere near as much as Bus drivers which, as I stated, is not correct here in Cornwall.

DD suggests to me that your badge was issued in the west mids as mine is DD 40583 (although badges are now obsolete). If this is the case, you will be acutely aware the wage gap between a West Midland bus driver and a coach driver is quite wide. As I understand it the hourly pay is around £11 per hour. So obviously it depends on which part of the country you are in and how good your union is.

nickcc

Tilt wrote: »

DD suggests to me that your badge was issued in the west mids as mine is DD 40583 (although badges are now obsolete). If this is the case, you will be acutely aware the wage gap between a West Midland bus driver and a coach driver is quite wide. As I understand it the hourly pay is around £11 per hour. So obviously it depends on which part of the country you are in and how good your union is.

Sure you're correct, I left Bham in the middle seventies and moved to the North East (AA). Ended up in Cornwall in the late nineties and took the PCV test D&E, worked for First for a number of years, the average wage for a Bus Driver here in Cornwall is app £7 per hr which includes 5 over 7 working and shift allowance. We used to get tips in the sixties (Stockland Coaches) which were used to subsidise our wages but are now few and far between, mind you during my Bus driving years I only ever got one tip and that was for the grand sum of £2.

McKneff

When we have been with National Holidays and with Shearings we were told we had to do this because the drivers are not allowed back into the depot till a certain time later in the day.
Which is fair enough but, had he asked the passengers we would have all plumped for going straight home and he could have parked up and had a kip till he could get to the depot.

I remember going out for the day to 2 different places, awful day, we got dropped off for a couple of hours, got back to the coach and then he drove to the next place, still an awful day, raining, windy,driver stopped, opened the door and nobody but nobody moved lol. He had a good laugh about it and said over the mike, I gather everybody wants to go back to the hotel then, 54 people shouted 'YES' in unison.

nickcc

McKneff wrote: »

When we have been with National Holidays and with Shearings we were told we had to do this because the drivers are not allowed back into the depot till a certain time later in the day.
Which is fair enough but, had he asked the passengers we would have all plumped for going straight home and he could have parked up and had a kip till he could get to the depot.

I remember going out for the day to 2 different places, awful day, we got dropped off for a couple of hours, got back to the coach and then he drove to the next place, still an awful day, raining, windy,driver stopped, opened the door and nobody but nobody moved lol. He had a good laugh about it and said over the mike, I gather everybody wants to go back to the hotel then, 54 people shouted 'YES' in unison.

Sure the Driver would have been more than happy but when his company checked his tachograph disc or downloaded his driving info he would have been for the high jump.

skipness

My drivers badge was an EE one and cost me 5/- for the test and 2/6 for the badge, but well worth it for almost 40 yrs until I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Even though successfully treated this meant loss of licence. I think my experience gives me grounds to comment.
Drivers are subject to strict hours and breaks, enforced by tachograph. Next time you are travelling around the U.K. Take a special lookout for establishments that welcome coaches. What you will notice is that, apart from on motorways, these stops are very limited. Would the O.P. have preferred to have spent his time at a motorway service station or at somewhere such as Boundary Mills?