Cargo vehicle driver to bus driver
A cargo vehicle driver already meets 29% of what the bus driver role asks for. The move turns on 23 required skills not yet in the profile.
75.5/ 100
1 How much of what a bus driver is expected to do is already part of a cargo vehicle 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 bus driver role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A bus driver role treats 10 of its required skills as things a cargo vehicle driver already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- control the performance of the vehicle
- interpret traffic signals
- mechanical components of vehicles
- operate GPS systems
- read maps
- road traffic laws
What stands in the way is 23 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 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A bus driver role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cargo vehicle driver background worth leading with.
- already held transport topography services
- already held control the performance of the vehicle working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held mechanical components of vehicles engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held use communication devices working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held interpret traffic signals assisting and caring
- already held stay alert communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 10 the bus driver role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 7 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 assist disable passengers required
- still to learn assist passengers required
- still to learn focus on passengers required
- still to learn help to control passenger behaviour during emergency situations required
- still to learn provide information to passengers required
- still to learn provide first aid required
- still to learn adhere to transportation work schedule required
- still to learn communicate clearly with passengers required
- still to learn apply conflict management required
- still to learn communicate with customers required
- still to learn perform services in a flexible manner required
- optional, not held promote the use of sustainable transport optional
- still to learn drive in urban areas required
- still to learn ensure vehicle operability required
- still to learn perform defensive driving required
- still to learn manoeuvre bus required
- still to learn clean road vehicles required
- still to learn lift heavy weights required
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
- still to learn organise vehicle breakdown support required
- still to learn tolerate sitting for long periods required
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
- still to learn ensure vehicles are equipped with accessibility equipment required
- still to learn keep time accurately required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a bus driver role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adhere to transportation work schedule practise this
- 02 assist disable passengers practise this
- 03 assist passengers 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 10 skills that carry over
- already held control the performance of the vehicle skill
- already held interpret traffic signals skill
- already held mechanical components of vehicles knowledge
- already held operate GPS systems skill
- already held read maps skill
- already held road traffic laws knowledge
- already held stay alert skill
- already held transport topography knowledge
- already held use communication devices skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn passenger transport regulations required
- still to learn health and safety measures in transportation required
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held promote the use of sustainable transport optional
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
- optional, not held handle petty cash optional
9 held skills the bus driver role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role anticipate foreseeable problems on the road skill
- not needed by the target role manoeuvre heavy trucks skill
- not needed by the target role parallel park vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role practice emergency stops skill
- not needed by the target role road transport legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise loading of cargo skill
- not needed by the target role supervise unloading of cargo skill
- not needed by the target role types of cargo knowledge
- not needed by the target role vehicle cargo capacity knowledge
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 passenger transport regulations required
- still to learn health and safety measures in transportation required
Common questions about this move
Can a cargo vehicle driver become a bus driver?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A cargo vehicle driver already covers 29% of what a bus driver is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 10 of which the bus driver role treats as required.
What skills does a cargo vehicle driver need to become a bus driver?
23 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is adhere to transportation work schedule.
How hard is the move from cargo vehicle driver to bus driver?
Its learning distance is 75.5 out of 100, which is the career change 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.