PETER McCANN, driver for Bus Éireann, describes his day
I’VE BEEN A driver with Bus Éireann for 10 years. Before that I drove trucks for 20 years. The great thing about this job is that in all that time I’ve never once woken up and thought, Oh God, not again. It’s really enjoyable.
I’m based at the Sligo hub, a 20-minute drive from my home. We work a six-week rotation which takes me to Dublin, Enniskillen, Galway, Derry, Mayo, Roscommon and Tipperary.
Today I’m on an early shift, so I started at 7am, went to Enniskillen and was back in Sligo at lunch. We have a canteen where we can make up sandwiches, so that was what I did for lunch. I spent the afternoon doing a local service and finished at 6pm.
Regardless of the route I’m on, the first thing I do before taking the bus out is a safety inspection, to check the lights, doors and emergency doors.
In the summer I do our West’s Awake scenic tour, which is really popular. We start at 8am and go from Sligo to Donegal, Letterkenny and Glenveagh National Park, which is a lovely stop-off.
I get a good mix of locals and tourists, and 99 per cent of people are marvellous. I hear the same questions all the time: How long to get from here to here? What’s that thing in the distance? How do you pronounce that place name?
Mostly when I’m driving people don’t talk to me, though, and I have the radio on low. I listen to Ocean FM if I’m staying around Sligo; if I’m going to Dublin, Today FM is my favourite. I love the radio; I’d be lost without it.
People fall asleep regularly on the bus, but it’s rare enough that they miss their stop, because other passengers getting off will always tell me about them, and I’ll go and check to make sure.
Occasionally you’ll get a passenger who has had too much to drink, but they only tend to be aggressive if you address them aggressively. I wasn’t built to fight, so I talk to them calmly, and I’ve never had a problem.
I work a five-day week, and most days you’d be out of the house for 10 to 12 hours. It’s a long day, and by the end of the week you would be mentally tired. I work four weekends out of six; it’s part of the job, and you just get on with it.
As for a busman’s holiday, last year my wife and I went on a Mediterranean cruise for a big anniversary. Funnily enough, the bit I enjoyed most were the coach tours at every port. I found them very relaxing.
** In conversation with Sandra O’Connell