Tram driver to bus driver
A tram driver already meets 81% of what the bus driver role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
25.8/ 100
1 How much of what a bus driver is expected to do is already part of a tram 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 27 of its required skills as things a tram 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 6 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 bus driver role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a tram 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 27 the bus driver role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 7 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 control the performance of the vehicle required
- still to learn manoeuvre bus required
- still to learn use communication devices required
- still to learn interpret traffic signals required
- still to learn mechanical components of vehicles required
- still to learn organise vehicle breakdown support required
- optional, not held promote the use of sustainable transport optional
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 control the performance of the vehicle practise this
- 02 mechanical components of vehicles study this
- 03 organise vehicle breakdown support 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 lift heavy weights skill
- already held operate GPS systems 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 read maps 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
1 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held promote the use of sustainable transport optional
10 held skills the bus driver role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply tramway regulations skill
- not needed by the target role drive trams skill
- not needed by the target role interpret traffic light signals used in tramway infrastructure skill
- not needed by the target role interpret tramway traffic signs skill
- not needed by the target role mechanical composition of trams knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate tram controls skill
- not needed by the target role perform tram equipment checks skill
- not needed by the target role tolerate stress skill
- not needed by the target role types of trams knowledge
- not needed by the target role use communication equipment skill
1 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 mechanical components of vehicles required
Common questions about this move
Can a tram driver become a bus driver?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A tram driver already covers 81% of what a bus driver is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 27 of which the bus driver role treats as required.
What skills does a tram driver need to become a bus driver?
6 required skills are missing, plus 1 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with machinery and specialised equipment. The single most important is control the performance of the vehicle.
How hard is the move from tram driver to bus driver?
Its learning distance is 25.8 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.