Drivers' hours for bus and coach drivers

Lorry drivers mostly live under one set of hours rules. Bus and coach drivers regularly switch between two, sometimes in the same week. The PCV theory test expects you to know which applies and to recognise the limits that make each one different.

Start with the service, not the vehicle

For a public service vehicle in Great Britain, the deciding question is what kind of work you are doing:

A regular service carries passengers at specified intervals along a set route, with set stopping points. Measure the route, not your day’s mileage: a driver can cover 300 km doing laps of a 20 km route and still be under the domestic rules.

GB domestic rules: the local bus

The domestic rules are built around a long, broken working day, which suits shift patterns with peaks in the morning and afternoon.

• Daily driving: no more than 10 hours in a working day.
• Spreadover: no more than 16 hours between starting and finishing work, including off-duty time in the middle.
• Daily rest: at least 10 hours between working days, which can be cut to 8 hours 30 minutes up to three times a week.
• Fortnightly rest: at least one period of 24 hours off duty in each two weeks.

Breaks depend on the length of the working day:

• In a working day of under 8 hours 30 minutes, take a break of at least 30 minutes after 5 hours 30 minutes of driving.
• In a longer working day, either take that break or spend at least 45 minutes not driving in the first 8 hours 30 minutes, followed by a break of at least 30 minutes.

Time standing at a terminus is not driving, which is how the 45 minutes of non-driving time can be made up on a route with layovers.

There is no record-keeping requirement under the GB domestic rules for passenger vehicles, and no tachograph is needed for a regular service under 50 km. Your operator still has to schedule work that complies.

Assimilated rules: the coach

Coach work beyond 50 km follows the same core numbers as goods vehicles:

• a break of at least 45 minutes after 4 hours 30 minutes of driving, which can be split into 15 minutes then 30 minutes
• 9 hours of daily driving, or 10 hours twice a week
• 56 hours in a week and 90 hours in any two consecutive weeks
• 11 hours of daily rest, reducible to 9 hours three times between weekly rests
• 45 hours of weekly rest, reducible to 24 hours every other week with compensation

Driving is recorded on a tachograph with your driver card.

The 12-day concession

A coach driver on a single occasional international journey of at least 24 hours, such as a tour to Europe, can postpone the weekly rest for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods, instead of the usual six. It comes with conditions, including back-to-back weekly rests afterwards, and it cannot be used on regular services.

Mixing the two in a week

Many drivers do school or local routes on Monday and a private hire to a coast resort on Saturday. When you mix the rules:

• driving under assimilated rules counts towards your domestic driving and duty limits
• domestic driving counts as other work under the assimilated rules, not as a break or rest
• on days with assimilated driving, take assimilated daily rest, and keep the 16-hour domestic duty limit

On any day with assimilated driving you must be able to show the relevant tachograph records at the roadside.

Working time, and passengers on board

Working time rules apply on top. Helping passengers board or alight, cleaning the vehicle and doing the walkaround check all count as work. For drivers under the assimilated rules, working time must average no more than 48 hours a week and must be interrupted by a break after no more than six hours of work. Night work, defined for passenger vehicles as between 01:00 and 05:00, limits working time to 10 hours in 24 unless an agreement allows otherwise.

A bus driver who is falling asleep must stop as soon as it is safe, even if the timetable suffers. That answer appears in theory questions phrased many ways, and it is always right.

Common mix-ups

1. Using the coach rule (break after 4 hours 30) for a local bus under the domestic rules.
2. Assuming every bus needs a tachograph.
3. Thinking the 50 km means the distance driven in a day.
4. Counting a layover spent selling tickets or helping a wheelchair user as a break.

DVSA explains the details and exemptions in Drivers’ hours and tachographs: buses and coaches. Passenger duties that count as work are covered in passenger safety, braking and customer care. When you are ready, try the hours questions in the PCV mock tests.