Bus driver to tram driver
A bus driver already meets 72% of what the tram driver role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.1/ 100
1 How much of what a tram driver is expected to do is already part of a bus driver’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the tram driver role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A tram driver role treats 24 of its required skills as things a bus driver already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adhere to transportation work schedule
- apply conflict management
- assist disable passengers
- assist passengers
- clean road vehicles
- communicate clearly with passengers
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 29 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A tram driver role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a bus driver background worth leading with.
- already held clean road vehicles handling and moving
- already held keep time accurately information skills
- already held tolerate sitting for long periods management skills
- already held adhere to transportation work schedule communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held focus on passengers assisting and caring
- already held communicate clearly with passengers communication, collaboration and creativity
All 29 carried skills, including the 24 the tram driver role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply tramway regulations required
- still to learn interpret tramway traffic signs required
- still to learn interpret traffic light signals used in tramway infrastructure required
- still to learn drive trams required
- still to learn operate tram controls required
- still to learn use communication equipment required
- still to learn types of trams required
- still to learn mechanical composition of trams required
- still to learn perform tram equipment checks required
- still to learn tolerate stress required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a tram driver role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 perform tram equipment checks practise this
- 02 apply tramway regulations practise this
- 03 drive trams practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 29 skills that carry over
- already held adhere to transportation work schedule skill
- already held apply conflict management skill
- already held assist disable passengers skill
- already held assist passengers skill
- already held clean road vehicles skill
- already held communicate clearly with passengers skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held drive in urban areas skill
- already held ensure vehicle operability skill
- already held ensure vehicles are equipped with accessibility equipment skill
- already held focus on passengers skill
- already held health and safety measures in transportation knowledge
- already held help to control passenger behaviour during emergency situations skill
- already held keep time accurately skill
- already held passenger transport regulations knowledge
- already held perform defensive driving skill
- already held perform services in a flexible manner skill
- already held provide first aid skill
- already held provide information to passengers skill
- already held road traffic laws knowledge
- already held stay alert skill
- already held tolerate sitting for long periods skill
- already held transport topography knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held execute vehicle maintenance skill
- already held handle petty cash skill
- already held lift heavy weights skill
- already held operate GPS systems skill
- already held read maps skill
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
7 held skills the tram driver role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role control the performance of the vehicle skill
- not needed by the target role interpret traffic signals skill
- not needed by the target role manoeuvre bus skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical components of vehicles knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise vehicle breakdown support skill
- not needed by the target role promote the use of sustainable transport skill
- not needed by the target role use communication devices skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn types of trams required
- still to learn mechanical composition of trams required
Other moves recorded from bus driver
- private chauffeur 61% covered · moderate
- taxi driver 60% covered · moderate
- cargo vehicle driver 55% covered · moderate
- school bus attendant 46% covered · moderate
- carriage driver 45% covered · moderate
- dangerous goods driver 44% covered · substantial
- passenger fare controller 41% covered · substantial
- armoured car driver 39% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a bus driver become a tram driver?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A bus driver already covers 72% of what a tram driver is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 24 of which the tram driver role treats as required.
What skills does a bus driver need to become a tram driver?
10 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is perform tram equipment checks.
How hard is the move from bus driver to tram driver?
Its learning distance is 39.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.