‘Battle of the Buses’ – Minister takes on cricketers to promote bus apprenticeships

Local transport Minister, Simon Lightwood, and professional cricketers went head to head in the ‘Battle of the Buses’ at North Weald Airfield.

The event was aimed at promoting apprenticeships in bus driving. Arranged by First Bus, the time trial was designed to showcase the rigorous tests taken by learner bus drivers, emphasising the high skill level and rigorous standards expected of all staff.

Minister Lightwood and pro-cricketers were put through their paces, tackling elements of the real-life driving test, including reversing, roundabouts and turning the bus without knocking over cones.

Simon Lightwood told B&CB on his time behind the wheel of a bus at the event: “It was tough. I have such respect for people who drive buses.

“I did a theory test and got to go round the course with a driving instructor. I can’t say all the cones survived that!”

The minister and Essex County cricketers, Paul Walter and Matt Critchley, were all scored on safety, speed, checking mirrors and using the correct turning signals. To understand the versatility required from learner drivers, they also took a ten-question theory test. Last week, the Rail Minister, Lord Peter Hendy, also took part in the challenge, alongside Essex Women’s cricketers, Eva Gray, Cordelia Griffith and Kelly Castle.

As part of its efforts to increase opportunities for young people across the country, the government is supporting apprentices in the bus sector by including measures to enhance their training in the incoming Bus Services Bill.

“It’s important public transport is safe and perceived as safe for everybody” – Local transport Minister, Simon Lightwood

The Bill is aimed at delivering on the government’s Plan for Change by boosting local control of services, upskilling staff and better linking local people to job opportunities. As part of the incoming Bill, all bus staff will get mandatory training on improving women’s safety by responding to anti-social behaviour and incidents of violence against women and girls. Simon Lightwood told B&CB he would be working with the industry to keep the training mandated for all operators in the Bus Services Bill on dealing with anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls up to date. He said: “It’s important public transport is safe and perceived as safe for everybody.”

On what the industry is doing to encourage more people to train as bus drivers, he said: “We are working closely with CPT and the industry on this to work out what extra measures may be needed.”

In a press release, he said: “As the future of the industry, we’re determined to provide apprentice drivers with the skills they need to deal with challenges facing the bus sector, and to ensure our bus services stay safe, inclusive and comfortable for all passengers.

“Delivering better bus services will ensure people have proper access to jobs and opportunities, putting more money in their pockets and powering growth in every corner of the country.”

The Bill is due to be introduced in the House of Commons shortly.

Piers Marlow, Managing Director of First Bus East of England, said: “This is a fantastic and fun challenge for our partners at Essex County Cricket and the Department for Transport, but it also highlights the incredible skill required to be a bus driver. At First Bus, we place a huge emphasis on training to ensure our drivers are equipped with the expertise and confidence to navigate our roads safely and efficiently. Events like this help to showcase the professionalism of our drivers and the importance of ongoing development across the industry.”

Paul Walter, Essex County Cricket Club all-rounder, said: “The Battle of the Buses challenge was a lot of fun. I didn’t realise how tough driving a bus would be, it felt like something out of Top Gear, with the leaderboard, obstacles and the First Bus Stig.

“We’re all naturally competitive and it’s always good to get one over a teammate. I also really enjoyed going head-to-head with Critch [Matt Critchley] and I understand that Kelly, Cordelia and Eva got on great.

“Thank you to First Bus for having us down for the day.”