We can get you fully qualified in just one week*! No experience necessary**.
TTS currently provides passenger carrying vehicle driver training for bus driving licence classification D – bus / coach with more than eight passenger seats.
TTS is more than just a driving school. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the registered charity, Transport Training Board for Northern Ireland, TTS has a genuine, longstanding interest in facilitating best practice and the highest levels of compliance for the industries that we serve.
We are recognised as an industry-leading training provider, supporting the Northern Irish transport industry with trusted career development.
Our focus is never simply on passing tests, but on providing class-leading expertise, purpose-built facilities and modern teaching methods to deliver relevant skills for the 21st century.
The TTS training centre is equipped with a fleet of modern training vehicles and a dedicated vehicle manoeuvring area, plus we have a team of highly experienced driving instructors. We have also invested in a driving simulator, so if you are nervous about getting behind the wheel, you can practice virtually first!
Provided you have completed all of the pre-requisites for the driver training course, we can have you qualified within a week!
* Training takes place Monday to Friday, with the practical test taking place on the last day of the course.
** Full car licence is required as a pre-requisite
There are two routes to becoming a bus/coach driver. If you are between 18 and 24, you could qualify for an apprenticeship (provisional licence not available to under 18s). Find out more about our Passenger Carrying Vehicle Driver Apprenticeship here. If you do not qualify under the terms of the ApprenticeshipsNI scheme, which is funded by the Department for the Economy, you can complete PCV driver training at the TTS driving school.
There are a number of pre-requisites to be achieved before driver training can be carried out. Please read the guidelines here before applying to complete a course with us.
The DVA has lots of information on its NI Direct website about how to apply for your PCV provisional driving licence.
You will need a completed Medical Form [DLM1] and an AccessNI Basic Disclosure Certificate to send to the DVA along with your provisional licence application. Both documents need to be dated within the last 3 months.
DLM1 forms are available from all DVA MOT centers, and you can apply for an AccessNI Basic Disclosure Certificate online here.
You can book the PCV theory test online here.
And there is a link to information on the practical driving test for bus drivers here.
There are six centres in Northern Ireland where a Theory Test can be completed – for more details and direction, please go here.
If you have any special requirements or need additional help to complete the Theory Module there is more information on the options available for you here.
Once you have your completed medical form (DLM1 – available from all DVA MOT centers which should be completed by your GP) and received your AccessNI Basic Disclosure Certificate, send both to the DVA in Coleraine – the address will be on the form. Depending on your Doctor’s Surgery there may be a wait for an appointment with a GP to complete your medical form. AccessNI Basic Disclosure can be applied for online and should not take more than a week to be returned to you.
If there are no delays, the DVA will take anywhere between 3 and 12 weeks to process your Provisional Licence application.
Once you have your provisional licence book your theory test online (find out more here). Availability of theory tests is variable, but usually you’ll be able to get a test within two to three weeks, and sometimes much sooner.
Once you have passed all of the relevant theory tests get in touch with TTS to arrange your practical training.
TTS delivers driver training in blocks of five days, which can include both the driving test and the CPC test if required. Our trainers work with a maximum of two drivers per day – and you will usually be out on the road from approximately 9.00 am to 4.00 pm most days. We can also accommodate one-to-one tuition either in the morning or afternoon driving session (although this may not be possible on test days depending on the test schedule).
Provided you have completed all of the pre-requisites for the driver training course, we can have you qualified within a week! You complete training with us from Monday to Friday, finishing with the practical driving test on the Friday afternoon.
Qualified salary expectations range depending on the role, but bus/coach drivers typically earn between £20-25,000, with more specialist roles commanding much more than this.
According to Glassdoor, the typical Translink Bus Driver salary is £24,043 per year.
The best way to ascertain the salary that you could achieve once you are fully qualified is to search job listings to see what salaries companies in your local area are offering.
Although the minimum age to drive a bus, as outlined by the government, is 24 you can train to be a bus driver before this (as long as you have taken a number of necessary steps to complete the training). Please note there are a number of exceptions to this age restriction. Please visit NI Direct for full details.
Absolutely not! Whilst the transport industry has traditionally offered employment opportunities for predominantly male roles, it is currently working hard to attract more female talent.
TTS is keen to encourage course participants from all sectors of the population and is very active in encouraging more women and people of all ethnicities and minority groups to consider a career in the retail motor and transport industries.
Check out our Women in Wheels NI page for more information about career opportunities for women in transport.
There are currently significant skill shortages within driving roles in the transport industry, both in Northern Ireland and further afield. In terms of career progression there are many opportunities for qualified and experienced PCV drivers. Some advancement opportunities are as follows:
Also, because driver shortages are common across the world, you could have the opportunity to live and work abroad after you qualify or later in life.
There are a number of pre-requisites to be achieved before driver training can be carried out at TTS. Please read the below guidelines before applying to complete a course with us.
Before you can participate in any driver training with TTS you must first complete the following steps:
Note for D1 Drivers (driving on behalf of a non-commercial body, and only when the minibus is being used for social purposes): Drivers who have been issued with a D1(nfhr) category on their licence may drive a minibus on behalf of a non-commercial body as long as the minibus is being used for social purposes, is being driven on a voluntary basis, is not being used for hire or reward and they receive no payment other than out-of-pocket expenses. There is no requirement to hold a DQC as a volunteer driver for a non-commercial body providing that you have a personal connection to that organisation.
More Guidance on Driver Licensing Requirements for Minibuses is available from NI Direct here.
We understand that the requirements can be confusing, so our experienced team is on hand to answer any questions that you have. Please contact us on 028 9082 5653 if you need any assistance. Before calling please be prepared with the following information:
There are a number of things that you must do to keep your licence up to date. Information can be found on the DVA website at the following links:
How to keep your driving licence up to date
Your entitlement to drive lorries, minibuses or buses needs to be renewed every five years until you are 65. After the age of 65 you have to renew your licence entitlement every year. Find out more about renewing your vocational licence here.
Each year there’s around 68 million bus passenger journeys carried out by Ulsterbus, Metro and Glider, and Translink typically operates around 1,200 buses in its fleet. But this is only the public bus service, there are many privately owned bus and coach operators across Northern Ireland too – somewhere in the region of 3,400 in total. All of these need drivers! This demonstrates the size of the employment market for bus drivers in Northern Ireland so there is good likelihood of job availability.
TTS is more than a driving school. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the registered charity, Transport Training Board for Northern Ireland, TTS has a genuine, longstanding interest in facilitating best practice and the highest levels of compliance for the industries that we serve.
We are recognised as an industry-leading training provider, supporting the Northern Irish transport industry with trusted career development. Because our sole attention is on the transport and retail motor sectors in Northern Ireland, we have a real depth of knowledge, backed by over 50 years’ experience.
Our focus is never simply on passing tests, but on providing class-leading expertise, purpose-built facilities and modern teaching methods to deliver relevant skills for the 21st century.
The TTS training centre is equipped with a fleet of modern training vehicles and a dedicated vehicle manoeuvring area, plus we have a team of highly experienced driving instructors. We have also invested in a driving simulator, so if you are nervous about getting behind the wheel, you can practice virtually first!
To acquire a licence the driver needs to complete all the stages listed below:
As part of your training course, TTS will book your practical test for you.
Please be aware that some PCV training providers do not offer module 4 as part of their packaged prices and you are not a fully qualified PCV driver until this module has been completed. As part of any driver training course completed at TTS, you will complete Module 4.
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