Community transport driver Job Information | National Careers Service

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Community transport driver

Hours

40 per week
Starting salary

£12,000 + per year

Community transport is a local service for people who cannot easily use other forms of transport, for example the elderly, disabled and schoolchildren.

As a community transport driver, it would be your job to transport passengers door-to-door, similar to a taxi service, or work on regular services like school runs. You might drive cars, minibuses or coaches. If you have good driving skills and would like to perform a valuable public service, this job could be ideal for you.

In this job you will also need good people skills. You will need an awareness of disability needs.

There are no set entry requirements to get into this job, although most employers tend to look for driving experience and a background in customer care, health care or social work. You will need a full driving licence, and possibly a category D licence. You may need to pass checks by the Criminal Records Bureau.

The work

As a community transport driver, your typical duties would include:

planning the best route
driving the vehicle safely, stopping at designated points
helping passengers get on and off the vehicle
performing basic vehicle checks
keeping the vehicle tidy in between journeys.

You would usually work alongside passenger assistants, under the supervision of a co-ordinator or manager. For more information on this role see the Community Transport Passenger Assistant job profile.

Community Transport Passenger Assistant

Hours

In a full-time job you would normally work around 40 hours a week. Part-time hours may be available, and you may need to be flexible as passengers can require transport from early in the morning, to late in the evening.

Most of your time would be spent in the vehicle, on the move, picking up and dropping off passengers. You may be required to lift and manually handle passengers.

Your employer may provide you with a uniform.

Income

Full-time drivers can earn between £12,000 and £14,000 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

There are no set entry requirements, although most employers tend to look for driving experience and a background in customer care, health care or social work. Some employers may ask for GCSEs in maths and English, or equivalent qualifications.

You will need a full driving licence. Some employers may insist that your licence has no endorsements (‘points’) on it. You will need to be at least 17 years old to drive smaller minibuses and cars, which only require a standard driving licence.

To drive larger passenger carrying vehicles (PCVs) of more than nine seats, you will need a category D licence. To get this licence you would need to pass further theory and practical driving tests. The minimum age is 18, although you may be restricted in which services you can provide.

For more information about the category D licence, see the driver licensing section of the Directgov website.

Directgov

You may also need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance. Visit the CRB website for more details.

Criminal Records Bureau (Home Office website)

For more information about careers in community transport, visit the Careers in Passenger Transport website.

Careers in Passenger Transport

Training and development

Once you start work you will usually be trained in areas like first aid, disability awareness and duty of care.

Your employer may also encourage you to take the NVQ Level 2 in Road Passenger Vehicle Driving, which has community transport options.

Another option would be to join MiDAS, the Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme, which aims to promote nationally recognised training standards for minibus drivers.

Alternatively, if you drive vehicles with less than nine seats, you could join the MiDAS Car & MPV scheme. See the CTAUK website for more information about the schemes.

Community Transport Association

Skills and knowledge

To be a community transport driver you should have:

excellent driving skills and knowledge of traffic regulations
good communication and 'people' skills
an awareness of disability needs
good organisational skills
map reading and route planning skills
patience and empathy with passengers
a reasonable level of fitness
the ability to work well as part of a team.

More information

People 1st (Opens new window)
2nd Floor
Armstrong House
38 Market Square
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 1LH
Tel: 01895 817 000
www.people1st.co.uk

Community Transport Association (Opens new window)
Highbank
Halton Street
Hyde
Cheshire
SK14 2NY
Tel: 0845 130 6195
www.ctauk.org

Careers in Passenger Transport (Opens new window)
www.careersinpassengertransport.org

Opportunities

According to GoSkills, this industry employs around 10,000 people in hundreds of different organisations. There are also thousands of volunteers supporting the industry, which is good way to get experience.

Jobs are advertised in the local press, Jobcentre Plus and on community transport organisation websites. Some organisations are run by the local authority, so you may find vacancies on local authority websites or the LG Jobs website.

With experience, you could progress to operations or service manager. With the right licence, you could also move into other areas of driving, or with further training, into vehicle maintenance and repair. See the Transport jobs section to explore other driving roles.

Transport jobs

You may find the following useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open in new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The community transport industry is represented by People 1st, the Sector Skills Council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism. The passenger transport sector incorporates rail, aviation, bus and coach, taxi and private hire, light rail and metro, driver training, and UK waterways. The sector accounts for 735,000 jobs, most of which are within the bus and coach, taxi and private hire, rail, and aviation industries. The passenger transport sector includes a wide variety of roles, from pilots and transport planners, to essential support roles in finance, marketing and human resources.

The community transport industry in the UK provides a vital service to people who are unable to easily access other forms of public transport. Services include driving, passenger assistance and service coordination and planning, which are provided through cars, minibuses and coaches. A significant percentage of community transport operations are based in rural locations in order to supply better services in areas where other public transport services do not exist. Community transport work is undertaken by local authorities or by specialist organisations. Some private coach and bus operators also provide community transport services.

Key facts:

There are around 10,000 people working in the community transport industry.
There are hundreds of organisations of varying sizes; some have large numbers of employees whilst others have lots of volunteers.
Many positions in the industry are voluntary or part‐time.
94% of companies employ at least one part‐time person.
Opportunities for progression within the industry can be limited.

Jobs in the industry fall into the following areas:

Driving – such as car, minibus and coach driver
Passenger support – such as passenger assistant
Operations management – such as operations assistant, operations manager

National and regional data

[N.B. Regional data presented are for the passenger transport sector as a whole. Data derived from the Labour Force Survey, 2007.]

East Midlands – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 14% of the workforce in the region is female. 14% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 62% is 26‐49 years and 32% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; Welsh language; job related IT; and safety/accident management.

East of England – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 25% of the workforce in the region is female. 9% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 7% of the workforce is under 25 years, 52% is 26‐49 years and 41% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; job related IT; Welsh language; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

London – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 20% of the workforce in the region is female. 42% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 4% of the workforce is under 25 years, 70% is 26‐49 years and 26% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; foreign languages; safety/accident management; booking operations; and logistics and scheduling of services.

North East – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 17% of the workforce in the region is female. 3% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 51% is 26‐49 years and 41% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; Welsh language; and safety/accident management.

North West – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 16% of the workforce in the region is female. 14% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 61% is 26‐49 years and 33% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; disability awareness; Welsh language; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

South East – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 25% of the workforce in the region is female. 11% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 6% of the workforce is under 25 years, 48% is 26‐49 years and 36% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; and job related IT.

South West – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 19% of the workforce in the region is female. 4% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 4% of the workforce is under 25 years, 56% is 26‐49 years and 40% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; job related IT; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.

West Midlands – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 19% of the workforce in the region is female. 27% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 7% of the workforce is under 25 years, 65% is 26‐49 years and 28% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: job related IT; safety/accident management; foreign languages; maths/working with numbers; and disability awareness.

Yorkshire and the Humber – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 13% of the workforce in the region is female. 18% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 62% is 26‐49 years and 30% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; job related IT; and Welsh language.

Northern Ireland – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 21% of the workforce in the region is female. Data are unavailable on the ethnicity of the workforce. 9% of the workforce is under 25 years, 74% is 26‐49 years and 17% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; safety/accident management; job related IT; and disability awareness.

Scotland – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 16% of the workforce in the region is female. 2% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 56% is 26‐49 years and 36% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: foreign languages; vehicle maintenance and engineering; and disability awareness.

Wales – In the passenger transport sector as whole, 18% of the workforce in the region is female. 4% of the workforce is from an ethnic minority background. 8% of the workforce is under 25 years, 54% is 26‐49 years and 38% is 50 years or older. Skill gaps include: Welsh language; foreign languages; disability awareness; safety/accident management; job related IT; and vehicle maintenance and engineering.