And get the show on the road!
People of the North East! 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 £13.70ph as a Trainee (increasing after 12 months) and up to £15.85ph 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 kids to school or commuters to work, you’ll connect our customers to what matters to them, while providing excellent customer service and making a difference in your community. If you like looking after the locals and getting them from A to B, then we have a seat with your name on it.
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. Bank holidays and weekends are 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 24 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 the Northeast are in Ashington, Blyth, Durham, Darlington, Stockton, and Redcar/Whitby. You’ll operate routes across the Northeast, covering family favourite attractions like Woodhorn Museum and Diggerland to shopping hotspots like Yarm town centre and Newcastle City Centre. You’ll provide routes to hospitals, and universities and shuttle holidaymakers to Newcastle Airport, as well as covering seasonal coastal routes around Whitby and Sandsend.
Top perks for top drivers
Our depots are the perfect place for you to relax, unwind, and take some time for yourself before your next route. Lift to your heart’s content in our on-site gyms, put your feet up in our breakout areas, or even challenge your colleagues to a round of pool. You’ll never go hungry thanks to our convenient vending machines, and you can even catch a lift to our other sites thanks to our Redcar-based driver shuttle service.
No experience?
No worries!
We’re always on the lookout for talented drivers to join our fleet - whether you’re experienced or not. If you don’t have Bus Driving experience, all we ask is that you enjoy driving (obviously!), and want to provide quality service to your local community.
We offer fully paid training through our Training Schools based in Ashington and Stockton. You’ll be given all the knowledge and skills you need to drive our buses and can get your CPC and PCV licence here.
Application process
Online Application
Apply for our roles via our careers site or Indeed. Here, you’ll be asked to answer some basic eligibility and screening questions, alongside uploading your CV. It shouldn’t take more the 5 minutes!
Call with the team
Your application will be reviewed by our recruitment team who will then be in touch for an initial phone 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 at our Ashington or Stockton depots. You’ll take part in a 30-minute driving test with an Arriva driving instructor, a 10-minute written assessment to test your writing and basic math skills, and an on-site medical check– including a drugs and alcohol test. We’ll also check your documentation and you’ll have an interview with one of our managers. This assessment day is the perfect opportunity for you to learn about us as much as we can learn about you!
The next steps
If you’ve been successful on our assessment day, a team member will be in touch with the good news! We’ll then send off Trainee candidate licences to the DVLA, which can take up to 4 weeks to process. If you’re an experienced driver with an active PCV licence, you’ll be offered a start day on our assessment day!
Theory Practice (Trainee only)
It can take up to 4 weeks for your provisional PCV licence to arrive from the DVLA. In the meantime, we’ll give you access to an online portal so you can start practising 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 three weeks. Once it’s complete, you’ll have your full PCV licence, and you’ll get onto the roads with a mentor. If you’re already a PCV licence holder, you’ll have a short induction so we can get you out on the road!
Alistair Hands, Managing Director - Regions
“Serving our communities ensures that Arriva can really make a difference.”
– Gary Hutchinson - Durham & Darlington Sites Manager,
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.