Will autism affect me getting a PCV licence?

[Trombly]

Hello everyone,

I am a 23 year old from the South that is strongly considering going into bus driving as a career. My grandfather was a bus driver for years up and down the country and he always recommended it and the pay is pretty decent in my city (£15p/h). Certainly not many jobs I could do that would let me earn that at this point in my life. More importantly I think I'd enjoy the job, at the moment I have been changing job every 6-9 months and I am looking for something stable that I find bearable.

Anyway, on to my main reason for the post. I am autistic. Its never been something that's affected me when driving so I know I don't have to declare it to the DVLA and I think this is the case when it comes to the PCV/HGV licences too right? I know it will probably be all okay but I still overthink and worry, especially because I really want to do this career. Is it something I should mention to the company at interview and to the person doing my medical? I know they can't discriminate against me but I am stll worried that they would just convientaly find another reason not to hire me which has sadly happened before when declaring my autism.

Are there any other PCV drivers here with autism? How do you find doing this job with autism?

 

[richw]

No it won’t affect you obtaining a licence.
There are many autistic drivers in the job that I know. One of whom is very open about his autism and is probably the best bus driver I know, he has so much attention to detail to the job.

 

[computerSaysNo]

I would say it depends how your autism affects you in terms of the non-driving aspects of the job. One of the effects it has for me is that I need more sleep than the average person (10-12+ hours a night) which means I can't work full time, this is making it extremely difficult for me to get into the bus driving industry as my local operator can't/won't offer the training part-time and I discovered also can't/won't offer the actual job part time either, they basically said to me "find medication that will let you work full time for 7 months and then you can apply for a part time adjustment from there". I know this doesn't necessarily apply to you, but it's just stuff like that.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Hello everyone,

I am a 23 year old from the South that is strongly considering going into bus driving as a career. My grandfather was a bus driver for years up and down the country and he always recommended it and the pay is pretty decent in my city (£15p/h). Certainly not many jobs I could do that would let me earn that at this point in my life. More importantly I think I'd enjoy the job, at the moment I have been changing job every 6-9 months and I am looking for something stable that I find bearable.

Anyway, on to my main reason for the post. I am autistic. Its never been something that's affected me when driving so I know I don't have to declare it to the DVLA and I think this is the case when it comes to the PCV/HGV licences too right? I know it will probably be all okay but I still overthink and worry, especially because I really want to do this career. Is it something I should mention to the company at interview and to the person doing my medical? I know they can't discriminate against me but I am stll worried that they would just convientaly find another reason not to hire me which has sadly happened before when declaring my autism.

Are there any other PCV drivers here with autism? How do you find doing this job with autism?

I've had a number of colleagues past and present with autism, so no, it's not an outright barrier to obtaining your licence.

As for doing the job, I would just consider how you would deal with intense/pressure situations, short notice changes during times of disruption and also the shift work nature of the job. I know some people with autism can be affected by sudden changes to a schedule or routine, but I also know that autism affects everyone differently.

No doubt the doom and gloomers will be along shortly to tell you that bus driving is the worst job in the world and you should avoid it at all costs, but judging by your first paragraph you've already come to the conclusion (a very sensible one IMO) that there are far worse jobs out there and you believe that you would enjoy it.

So all that's left for me to say is, good luck!

 

[Roger1973]

My understanding is it's not something that causes a PCV medical fail - obviously if someone has a medical issue / disability / condition that means they don't meet DVLA's standard for the 'vocational' licence (an obvious one would be someone who doesn't meet the eyesight standards) than there are no 'reasonable adjustments' that a bus operator can make to employ them as a PCV driver.

In terms of employment law, there has been disability discrimination legislation for some years (a long term health condition counts as a disability here), although in reality, proving discrimination can be difficult and there are still a few employers out there who haven't really come to terms with the sex discrimination / race discrimination laws that have been around for 50+ years...

This protection applies during the recruitment process, and also from day one of employment (unlike generic 'unfair dismissal' where you only have protection after 2 years' employment) - although you can only make a claim on disability discrimination if you have declared the disability to employer. Which can be a bit of a catch 22, as some people will prefer not to declare to reduce risk of discrimination.

(the above subject to the disclaimer that i'm not a lawyer)

As others have said, there are bus drivers out there with autism. Some bus operators are making more of an effort in recent years to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce rather than just complain about being short of drivers. At one bus operator I worked for, a few drivers were on fixed regular duties (obviously the fixed duty would change to some extent when there was a major route / timetable change) for medical reasons, and I think there was one where this had been agreed on autism grounds. Although the industry has traditionally viewed anything like this as a 'privilege' / special treatment, and some operators will be resistant to this, and may be reluctant to hire someone new on that basis rather than let a long service driver go on to something like that because of a health condition that develops over time.

As @Lewisham2221 says, think about how you would deal with those aspects of the job - there will be times when you get asked to do something other / additional to your scheduled duty to deal with a problem, and times when you have to take a diversion route for one reason or another. And you'll be dealing with the wide range of the general public that you'll be dealing with all day every day. This will include journeys with a bus load of school children, people being annoyed if your bus has been delayed by an incident or because the fares have gone up this week, the occasional anti-social passenger, and people going home after a night out on the town (assuming you end up with the sort of operator who does evening work.)

Also, worth being aware that almost all bus operators that take trainee drivers on and get them through the PCV licence will do this subject to you signing an agreement that says something like if you leave within 2 years, you will pay the company all or part of the cost of your training (the detail and time period varies, it's often a sliding scale so you would pay more leaving after 3 months than you would leaving after 18 months.)

Hope all goes well.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Also, worth being aware that almost all bus operators that take trainee drivers on and get them through the PCV licence will do this subject to you signing an agreement that says something like if you leave within 2 years, you will pay the company all or part of the cost of your training (the detail and time period varies, it's often a sliding scale so you would pay more leaving after 3 months than you would leaving after 18 months.)

How does this fair with doing the PCV licence and/or CPC through an independent provider? As I'm currently in the process of obtaining said licence through an independant provider.

 

[Roger1973]

How does this fair with doing the PCV licence and/or CPC through an independent provider? As I'm currently in the process of obtaining said licence through an independant provider.

I'm not quite sure what you mean.

If you are paying an independent provider for the training, and paying for your own test and everything, then that wouldn't apply if you join a bus company as a driver after you've passed.

There will be some internal training if you take a new job even with a PCV licence, before you're out on your own - things like that operator's customer care / disability awareness training, type training on the vehicles they run, the health + safety procedures round the depot, route learning, ticketing and so on (just how formalised this will be varies) but I've never heard of an operator claiming back training costs for that sort of thing.

It's more that big operators do not want to be a source of free PCV training for people who either want to go and work for a coach operator (who traditionally don't do PCV training) or just want the licence for personal interest / so they can work part time somewhere else.

if you are employed by a bus operator, or are on some sort of funded training scheme where someone else is paying, and that training is being delivered by an independent provider, then I'd have thought it would still apply the same as if the training was in-house.

Although any contractual agreement like that should have been given to you, explained if necessary, and signed by you, before you start - it might be legally questionable if they were to drop something like that on you at a later stage. (again subject to the disclaimer about me not being a lawyer.)

Hope it all goes well for you.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

If you are paying an independent provider for the training, and paying for your own test and everything, then that wouldn't apply if you join a bus company as a driver after you've passed.

That's OK then. As I'm looking at doing it as a career, plus I'd never be out of work.

 

[GCH100]

I am on the Autistic Spectrum, and would re-iterate what has been said, it depends on how the none driving part of the job will affect you, dealing with people can be difficult for people with Autism. If your severely effected by Autism and subject to mood swings, e.g. lose your temper often, what I would say then is avoid the job. However if you are only effected in a small way then go for it and good luck. No two people with Autism are the same.

 

[Three_Counties]

A fellow sufferer here but diagnosed some years after leaving full time driving behind - I was aware that I was different to the norm!

For the most part, I loved my time at the wheel but with some routes / hires more enjoyable than others.

i did struggle with the training initially but was determined to succeed as both my grandfathers had been bus drivers and I felt it was (is) in my blood.

I have a high attention to detail and found route learning a cinch and feel sure that I could still drive most of my past routes in South London and Surrey today, despite not having driven them for over 20 years nor having lived there for more than a decade. Ditto memorising duty and fare details.

My advice: go for it and make a success of your career choice.

 

[Steelman]

I'm on the autistic spectrum and I drive buses and coaches.

My day job is working in a back office at TfL. I can't get overtime so last year I decided to get Cat D on my license to start getting extra money in. I enjoy working in transport and have always been interested in driving large vehicles. I learnt privately and it cost me about £2k. It isn't just about passing the test though, you have to work hard to get a Certificate of Professional Compentency (CPC) card as well. I initially went to local operators who wanted a minimum of six months experience. I found one chap who would take me on but it was stag and hen do's which I didn't want to do. I have been an army reservist for 18 years and I spoke to my OC about it and have spent the last year driving coaches for the army going to / from firing ranges, moving military bands about and taking soldiers to exercises.

I have just started driving rail replacement and the money is good but you need to decide what sort of driving you want to do. Driving double deckers sounds good at first, but stopping all the time, the school run, difficult customers who won't pay, getting spat on is difficult. I would recommend the coach industry. You get treated better and if you do regular routes you will find it easier. National Express contract out most of their routes so have a look at the name on the side of the National Express vehicles and apply to them.

With regard to being on the autistic spectrum, it hasn't harmed me. You don't have to declare it to the DVLA and you may well find it makes you a better driving. Good luck!

 

[Trombly]

I'm on the autistic spectrum and I drive buses and coaches.

My day job is working in a back office at TfL. I can't get overtime so last year I decided to get Cat D on my license to start getting extra money in. I enjoy working in transport and have always been interested in driving large vehicles. I learnt privately and it cost me about £2k. It isn't just about passing the test though, you have to work hard to get a Certificate of Professional Compentency (CPC) card as well. I initially went to local operators who wanted a minimum of six months experience. I found one chap who would take me on but it was stag and hen do's which I didn't want to do. I have been an army reservist for 18 years and I spoke to my OC about it and have spent the last year driving coaches for the army going to / from firing ranges, moving military bands about and taking soldiers to exercises.

I have just started driving rail replacement and the money is good but you need to decide what sort of driving you want to do. Driving double deckers sounds good at first, but stopping all the time, the school run, difficult customers who won't pay, getting spat on is difficult. I would recommend the coach industry. You get treated better and if you do regular routes you will find it easier. National Express contract out most of their routes so have a look at the name on the side of the National Express vehicles and apply to them.

With regard to being on the autistic spectrum, it hasn't harmed me. You don't have to declare it to the DVLA and you may well find it makes you a better driving. Good luck!

Coach work is what I want to do eventually after a few years on the normal buses. I wanted to do HGVs orginally but now I have to take blood thinners and get semi regular blood tests it would make it hard to be doing HGV hours and shift patterns. I know coaches have longer hours too but the shift patterns are still a bit more forgiving than HGVs.

 

[507021]

I'm also autistic and have held a PSV licence for nearly ten years, if anything I think my meticulous attention to detail and extremely high level of focus really help. All of the advice given in the thread is sound and I can't add to it, so as long as you feel it's the right job for you, then go for it. Best of luck with your plans.