Page 37 - Linkline Spring 2017

A Day in the Life: Dublin Bus Driver
Bernard Fox has been driving for Dublin Bus for the past 15 years. He sat down with Linkline to chat about daily life behind the wheel, experiences with passengers and the challenge of training new recruits.
Commuters travelling into Dublin from Balbriggan each day might recognise Dublin Bus driver Bernard Fox as a familiar face from their route. Not that he’s picking
anyone up; on the 28km stretch of road from Balbriggan to Harristown garage Bernard doesn’t think about passengers. As a keen cyclist this daily dose of exercise helps him clear his head and prepare for the day ahead. Maintaining composure is a crucial part of the job, benefitting both him and his passengers alike.
“The first thing you’ve got to do is relax.” Bernard says. “The world will keep spinning. You can’t control everything, so there is no point in trying to do so. If you’re relaxed, your passengers will feel relaxed, and you’ll feel less stress on yourself, so the first thing you do is relax. You take your time, you chill out, and you live in your mirrors when you’re driving a bus.”
Bernard joined Dublin Bus back in 2002. “I came in as a car driver with a B licence and they trained me up to a D licence. I’ve worked as a member of the customer focus team and the energy saving team but my latest role here is as a part-time instructor. I’ve been doing that for the past 12 months.”
Before joining Dublin Bus Bernard ran his own business manufacturing toiletries and cosmetic products, but after six years the business went bust and he had to search for something new. “Dublin Bus was running a big recruitment drive at the time. I’ve never had any intentions of being a bus driver but they were recruiting like mad so I came in here and I’ve just embraced the place totally. It’s a great place to work.”
For him, joining Dublin Bus was a completely new challenge. “I was always in some kind of management role. Coming
from having my own business and being self-employed to working for someone else was a big change.” However, like many of his colleagues, he was able to put his past experience to good use. He is now a qualified ADI instructor, and when he’s not driving a bus himself he’s training the new recruits how to do so.
In 2007 Bernard went back to college to study for a diploma. He subsequently went on to complete a degree and then a Masters in Business Studies. This has helped him to build on his leadership skills and it has also benefitted the company: “I did my thesis on leadership and the style of leadership Dublin Bus would need to adapt if we are to implement sustainable practices.”
Along with the theoretical challenges of leadership Bernard has to deal with the practicalities of manoeuvring a 35 foot vehicle, filled with passengers, through the often labyrinthine streets of Dublin. “I drive out in the bus in the morning and I don’t know what’s going to face me on any given day. Anything can happen. There could be a protest march on in the city, roadworks or anything. It’s a challenge.” But it’s clearly a challenge that he relishes: “There is nothing more enjoyable than being able to manoeuvre a bus around some tight corner.” He also likes the comfort of having an entire team working behind the scenes with him while he’s out there. “The driver is there at the front line for everyone to see, but behind us we have clerical, we have maintenance, and we have central control who we constantly liaise with.”
Dublin Bus drivers get to know the city like no one else and this can bring with it the good and the bad. For Bernard, one of the hardest parts of the job has been seeing the homeless
The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport 37
A DAY IN THE LIFE