And get the show on the road!
Leicester! Join us as an Arriva Bus Driver and get the show on the road. Whether you’re an experienced driver looking for the next step in your career or if you’re not qualified yet, we have the role for you!
Earn up to £13.74ph as a Trainee (increasing after 12 months) and up to £17.55ph as an Experienced driver.
Welcome to one of the most entertaining and dazzling roles you will ever see! Arriva Bus Drivers put on an incredible performance in the community every day. Whether it's getting children to school or commuters to work, you'll connect our customers to what matters to them. Providing excellent customer service and making a real difference in communities. If you like looking after people in your local community, as an Arriva Bus Driver you can do more than you think.
Pay rates and
shift patterns
We offer competitive salaries for both trainee and experienced drivers. Trainee salaries increase after one year, during which time you will become a qualified PCV driver. Work after 6 PM and on weekends is paid at an additional rate.
Shifts rotate across mornings, afternoons, and evenings, with a schedule of 5 days out of 7. You will have 1 in 3 weekends off, as well as a long weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) every six weeks.
Benefits
£50 bonus for top performing drivers
Cycle to work scheme
20 days holiday increasing to 25 after 12 months
Arriva Workplace
Pension
Brand discounts and Cashback through the Arriva Village
Free bus travel
for you and
your household
Wanted!
Your local depot
Your local depots in Leicester are Thurmaston, Hinckley, and Coalville. You’ll operate routes across Leicestershire covering family favourite attractions like Twinlakes and Twycross Zoo and shopping areas like Fosse Park, Leicester City Centre Shopping, and Highcross. You’ll provide routes to hospitals, universities, and to the famous pork pies in Melton Mowbray.
We’re going electric!
Our electric bus fleet is currently 24-strong! And our fleet of green buses is growing. By 2025, Arriva Thurmaston’s bus fleet is expected to be 50% electric with plans to transition to 100% electric. We are doing good for our community and our planet.
No experience?
No worries!
We’re always on the lookout for talented drivers to join. Whether you’re experienced, or not. If you don’t have Bus Driving experience all we ask is that you enjoy driving (obviously!), want to provide a service to your local community and can deliver quality service to your customers.
We offer fully paid training through our own Training School based in Thurmaston. You’ll be given all the knowledge and skills to drive a bus and the opportunity to get your CPC and PCV licence.
Application process
Online Application
You'll be asked to answer some basic eligibility and screening questions alongside uploading your CV. It shouldn't take more than 5 minutes!
Call with the team
Your application will be reviewed by our recruitment team who will then be in touch for an initial telephone call to learn more about you, your application and to tell you more about the role.
Assessment Day
The next step is our assessment day. You'll have the opportunity to visit our depot where you'll have a driving assessment, your documentation will be checked and you can meet one of the management team. It's as much you learning about us as it is us finding out about you.
Medical
We will arrange for this to take place with a Doctor locally. They will check things like your blood pressure, eyesight and any prescribed medication to make sure you're safe to drive one of our buses.
Theory Practice (Trainee only)
It usually takes 2-3 weeks for your provisional PCV licence to be returned from the DVLA. In this time we'll give you access to an online portal to get practicing for your theory. As soon as your licence is back, we can confirm a start date for your induction.
Induction
Now it's time to get stuck in. For Trainee Bus Drivers, your training will last at least four weeks. Once it's complete, you'll have your full PCV licence and you'll be getting out on the road with a mentor. If you're already a PCV licence holder, you'll have a short induction so we can get you on the road!
Alice Herring, HR Director
Alistair Hands, Managing Director - Regions
“It’s rewarding to see the difference we make in our community—whether helping people get to hospitals, schools, or local attractions.”
– Mark Hopkins - Driver Manager at Thurmaston
About you
You'll be over 18 - this is a requirement of the DVLA.
Have at least 6 months driving experience with no more than 6 points on your licence.
Able to pass mandatory drug, alcohol and medical tests.
Good communication and interpersonal skills so you can provide the best service for your customers.
You'll be flexible with shifts rotating across mornings, afternoons and evenings. Shifts are 5 days out of 7.
1 in 3 weekends are off and a long weekend every 6 weeks (Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun).
There’s no business like our business. Apply now to join the incredible Arriva team and help deliver our vision of providing clean, sustainable and reliable transport services to our customers.