After becoming the first female Driving Instructor in Yellow Buses’ 115-year history, Sam Bowen talks to us about her career in the industry
How did you come to work in the industry?
Originally when I left school I trained as a chef, and decided that it really wasn’t for me. I got my provisional licence, but when I took my first lesson driving a coach I thought ‘oh god, I cant drive one of these’… it was too big! I left it there and went into retail management.
Everything changed in my life about 11 years ago, and I decided that I was going to go for it and drive buses. Being a Bournemouth girl, I wanted to be with Yellow Buses – the drivers that I worked with were the drivers that took me to school when I was a kid, so it was like being at home. I did my training and passed first time. I then became a mentor, and looked after new drivers.
A position came up for an instructor, and I thought that I’d really like to do it. I went for it and got it. I’d just lost my dad. I never told my dad that I was going to become a bus driver, I only told him after I passed my test. He was a lorry driver and he was really pleased with me. I think looking down on me now as in instructor, he’d be chuffed.
What drew you to becoming a driver and subsequently an instructor?
I wanted a big change. I loved driving, and when I was a kid I used to go out with my dad when he worked as a long distance continental lorry driver. I remember he used to tell a story about when I was seven or eight, and he used to have to have a driver’s mate with him. People would say ‘I see you have your daughter with you’, and he’d reply that he trusted me more than he would trust a driver’s mate. I think it stems from that as well as a love of driving. With instruction, I like to see people doing things properly and driving properly.
What do you find most rewarding about your role as a driver and instructor?
You see them when they come in on day one, and you give them the induction and do the basics with them. They’re often harsh with the brakes and not too sure of the size of the vehicle. Then you see them progress all the way through – you’re pushing them and giving them encouragement. And then you get to see them on their test day, and I feel like it’s a big achievement. Getting a licence is quite harsh nowadays. I get a buzz out of teaching people how to do the job.
At Yellow Buses, we tend to teach them to drive rather than just teaching them to pass their test.
What do you find most challenging about the role?
Classroom work can be challenging and so can different types of people. Being female can be quite challenging – I’ve had people turn round to me and say “oh, you’re an instructor?”. I think sometimes people don’t quite believe that you are an instructor. They look at things differently if you’re female. That can be quite challenging. But I really love my job, and it’s nice to say that I actually enjoy coming to work.
Do you think the industry needs to do more to recruit more women?
I think so, but it’s very hard. I remember when I started there were probably about seven ladies here, and I started with another woman – but that meant that there were only nine female drivers out of 150. Even now in some respects it’s still male dominated.
We do need to do more recruiting for female drivers. In the past we’ve done a ‘ladies’ day’. It was to get women into driving, and we had a huge day where they went through the process of what being a driver would be like, we took them round the yard, and they also did a little course. We got a couple of people out of that group, but it’s just about trying to open people’s eyes. I think the shift work can put women off, but it would be nice to see more women doing it.
What have been some of the highlights of your career?
Little comments that people make – I had one driver who was in his 40s, and he was amazed by everything. I thought he was taking the mick actually. I was familiarising the drivers with the training vehicle, and he was just amazed by everything. It’s the little things like that.
