Taxi driver to bus driver
A taxi driver already meets 42% of what the bus driver role asks for. The move turns on 19 required skills not yet in the profile.
65.2/ 100
1 How much of what a bus driver is expected to do is already part of a taxi 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 14 of its required skills as things a taxi driver already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist passengers
- communicate with customers
- drive in urban areas
- ensure vehicle operability
- lift heavy weights
- mechanical components of vehicles
What stands in the way is 19 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 15 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 taxi driver background worth leading with.
- already held organise vehicle breakdown support management skills
- already held tolerate sitting for long periods management skills
- already held transport topography services
- already held handle petty cash management skills
- already held ensure vehicle operability working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held assist passengers assisting and caring
All 15 carried skills, including the 14 the bus driver role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 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 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 interpret traffic signals 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 stay alert required
- optional, not held promote the use of sustainable transport optional
- still to learn control the performance of the vehicle required
- still to learn perform defensive driving required
- still to learn manoeuvre bus required
- still to learn ensure vehicles are equipped with accessibility equipment required
- still to learn keep time accurately required
- still to learn passenger transport regulations required
- still to learn health and safety measures in transportation required
- still to learn clean road vehicles required
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
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 clean road vehicles 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 15 skills that carry over
- already held assist passengers skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held drive in urban areas skill
- already held ensure vehicle operability skill
- already held lift heavy weights skill
- already held mechanical components of vehicles knowledge
- already held operate GPS systems skill
- already held organise vehicle breakdown support skill
- already held perform services in a flexible manner skill
- already held read maps skill
- already held tolerate sitting for long periods skill
- already held transport topography knowledge
- already held use communication devices skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held handle petty cash skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn road traffic laws required
2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held promote the use of sustainable transport optional
- optional, not held execute vehicle maintenance optional
13 held skills the bus driver role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adapt to changing situations skill
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role follow verbal instructions skill
- not needed by the target role geographic areas knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain privacy of service users skill
- not needed by the target role maintain vehicle appearance skill
- not needed by the target role operate radio dispatch systems for taxis skill
- not needed by the target role park vehicles skill
- not needed by the target role provide customers with price information skill
- not needed by the target role provide high-end driving services skill
- not needed by the target role provide private transport services skill
- not needed by the target role solve location and navigation problems by using GPS tools skill
- not needed by the target role tolerate stress skill
3 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
- still to learn road traffic laws required
Common questions about this move
Can a taxi driver become a bus driver?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A taxi driver already covers 42% of what a bus driver is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 14 of which the bus driver role treats as required.
What skills does a taxi driver need to become a bus driver?
19 required skills are missing, plus 2 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 taxi driver to bus driver?
Its learning distance is 65.2 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.