Bus Driver Driving Hours

[Neukit]

RE: Bus Driver Driving Hours

(30/04/2017 16:09)iMarkeh Wrote:  Is someone able to simplify the driving hours for me? I see drivers can drive for 5 1/2 hours before they have to have a 30 minute break then it said something about you need 45 minute in breaks before 8 1/2 hours and stuff about over 8 hours.
Would a driver possibly be able to drive for 5 hours then a 1 hour break then 4 hours driving?
All the different timing restraints confuse me.
Also, would a driver be able to do the following as a split shift? 07:30 - 12:00 then 16:30-19:35?

Both the examples would be perfectly legal under the UK Domestic hours rules.
Someone else has already commented on the first example, and in the second example the driver would need to be finished no later than 2330 (max 16h duty length), so finishing at 1935 is well short of that. Max driving time is 10h, so the total of 7h35m, again is well within the parameters.

Many bus operators have their own set of duty parameters/agreements, however these should not be confused with what may be perfectly legal duties for other companies. It's actually one of the reasons that larger ops, with often more restrictive duty agreements, find it hard to compete with the smaller ops who will simply work to the law.

[iMarkeh]

RE: Bus Driver Driving Hours
One more quick question. It was saying you have to go off EU rules if you go more than 50km (31 miles) on local bus service. Is that straight line distance or actual driving distance? The local bus service rules things say about the Express Bristol to Chepstow route being more than 15 miles driving but only 15 miles in straight line distance so it doesnt need registering and stuff like that. Just a bigger example. Chester - Old Trafford is 39 miles but only 30 ish in straight line distance. Does that mean driver can do that on GB domestic or does he/she have to use EU rules and Tacho because driving is 39 miles.

[motormayhem1]

RE: Bus Driver Driving Hours
Its meaning is 50 mile radius of your working depot.

[enrag2000]

RE: Bus Driver Driving Hours
The determining factor is the route length on a regular service. If the route is less than 50km long (not as the crow flies or on any radius, just the actual route length covered) then domestic rules apply. If the route length is greater than 50km, then EU rules apply (including use of tachographs).

The 15 mile limit is nothing to do with driving hours. The 15 mile limit (measured in a straight line) determines if a public bus service has to be registered or not.

To take your example, a route 39 miles long would be covered by EU rules on driving limits but would only require registration if passengers were conveyed for any journeys of less than the 15 mile limit. If the route was split into two separate sections, each less than 50km (31 miles), the domestic rules could apply.

The X2 between Preston and Liverpool is split at Southport on this basis.