What does a Bus Operator do?
Bus operators have different roles and responsibilities. These include providing bus driver training, ensuring all drivers have a valid license, and conducting an audit of the bus drivers' performance periodically. To accomplish these responsibilities, a bus operator should possess specific skills, including customer service skills, hearing ability, and hand-eye coordination. There are several qualifications to become a transit bus operator, including having a commercial driver's license, experience in a relevant job, or as a bus operator.
Bus operator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real bus operator resumes:
- Follow maps and electronic GPS as needed.
- Operate various types of company vehicles that require CDL certification.
- Perform a complete visual safety check of each bus driven on a daily basis, completing daily pre and post-trip checklists.
- Assist passengers with special needs in wheelchairs and walkers to be safely transport in the bus.
- Train and supervise bus assistants on proper procedures for handling disable children in walkers and wheel chairs.
- Assemble wires together for RV 's
- Putty any holes from production of rv's.
- Obtain information about children health history and allergies
Bus operator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 32% of Bus Operators are proficient in Transport Passengers, CDL, and Safety Rules. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Hand-eye coordination, and Hearing ability.
We break down the percentage of Bus Operators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Transport Passengers, 32%
Transport passengers over specified routes while adhering to all policies, traffic regulations and safety procedures
- CDL, 12%
Utilize CDL operator's license in the Pickup and/or discharge commuters in a professional, safe and timely manner.
- Safety Rules, 11%
Perform safety and emergency evacuation, ensure passengers safety rules and guidelines.
- Vehicle Inspections, 8%
Supplied supervisors with detailed vehicle inspection reports and other statistical data.
- Customer Service, 7%
Provide excellent customer service including assistance in boarding, supplying information, and responding appropriately in the event of emergency.
- Passenger Endorsement, 4%
Pick up and drop off passengers, Class B license with brake endorsement and passenger endorsements.
Most bus operators use their skills in "transport passengers," "cdl," and "safety rules" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential bus operator responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a bus operator to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what bus operators do because "bus drivers regularly interact with passengers and must be courteous and helpful." Additionally, a bus operator resume shows how bus operators use customer-service skills: "operate a forty foot passenger bus along a designated route transporting customers to their destinations providing assistance courteously and professionally. "
Hand-eye coordination. Many bus operator duties rely on hand-eye coordination. "driving a bus requires the controlled use of multiple limbs on the basis of what a person observes," so a bus operator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways bus operator responsibilities rely on hand-eye coordination: "provided administrative services and coordination for the activities of the public transportation system, which includes fixed-route bus"
Hearing ability. bus operators are also known for hearing ability, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to bus operator responsibilities, because "bus drivers need good hearing." A bus operator resume example shows how hearing ability is used in the workplace: "participated in disciplinary review hearings for bus operators who committed rule and policy violations. "
Patience. For certain bus operator responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "patience." The day-to-day duties of a bus operator rely on this skill, as "because of possible traffic congestion and sometimes unruly passengers, bus drivers are put in stressful situations and must remain calm and continue to operate their bus." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what bus operators do: "transport passengers safely to and from all scheduled destinations exercise patience, understanding, and mature judgment. "
Physical health. Another common skill required for bus operator responsibilities is "physical health." This skill comes up in the duties of bus operators all the time, as "federal and state regulations do not allow people to become bus drivers if they have a medical condition, such as high blood pressure or epilepsy, which may interfere with their operation of a bus." An excerpt from a real bus operator resume shows how this skill is central to what a bus operator does: "communicated and assisted individuals with physical and mental limitations for the purpose of providing access to public transportation. "
Visual ability. Lastly, "visual ability" is an important element of what a bus operator does. Bus operator responsibilities require this skill because "bus drivers must be able to pass vision tests." This resume example highlights how bus operator duties rely on this skill: "performed visual vehicle inspections daily to ensure maintenance and safety standards were met. "
The three companies that hire the most bus operators are:
- Utah Transit Authority11 bus operators jobs
- First Transit10 bus operators jobs
- Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authorty7 bus operators jobs
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Compare different bus operators
Bus operator vs. Motor coach driver
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a bus operator are more likely to require skills like "customer service," "two-way radio," "defensive driving," and "air brakes." On the other hand, a job as a motor coach driver requires skills like "dot," "minor maintenance," "charter bus," and "gps." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, motor coach drivers reach similar levels of education than bus operators. Motor coach drivers are 1.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Bus operator vs. Trackless trolley driver
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, bus operator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "cdl," "safety rules," "vehicle inspections," and "incident reports." Meanwhile, a trackless trolley driver has duties that require skills in areas such as "dot," "cdl-c," "c license," and "pier." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Trackless trolley drivers earn similar levels of education than bus operators in general. They're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Bus operator vs. Charter driver
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a bus operator is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "passenger endorsement," "incident reports," and "two-way radio," while a typical charter driver is skilled in "reliable transportation," "charter bus," "dot," and "transport clients."
Charter drivers make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $46,380. On the other hand, bus operators are paid the highest salary in the education industry, with average annual pay of $40,248.Most charter drivers achieve a similar degree level compared to bus operators. For example, they're 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Bus operator vs. Jitney driver
Types of bus operator
Updated January 8, 2025
