Meet the new woman behind the wheel of Cork's buses 

DRIVING for a living was a dream come true for Mahon woman Siobhan O’Sullivan, who recently passed her full bus driving license.

She joins the ranks of the 466 bus drivers in Cork, 19 of whom are women. She is overjoyed to have started with Bus Éireann, driving in Cork city, her home place, and one which she loves with all her heart.

“ I love Cork, especially the people, they are the best craic,” she said.

“Having worked in restaurants since I was 16 I have always enjoyed meeting people and having the chat. I’m so thrilled now that my new job will allow me to continue to meet the public, as well as driving, which is something that I have always enjoyed. ”

Siobhan lost her hospitality job during Covid, when restaurants shut up shop. However, even though her job was lost, she was not going to let the situation get on top of her.

“I’m not one for sitting around,” said the 31-year-old, who soon found a new role as a member of the security personnel at vaccination centres around Cork.

Then, when she spotted an advertisement to come and train as a bus driver with Bus Éireann, she jumped at the opportunity, and to her delight, her application was successful. She was recruited onto their training course and put through her paces.

“ My instructors were brilliant. I’m quite a small person, and the first time I sat behind the huge wheel of the bus, and saw the enormous window beside me, well that was quite something, but I just took a breath. Once I started moving off, it was a fantastic feeling and I just got into it straight away, knowing the instructors were with me to guide me through,” she said.

“Driving a vehicle that is 12 metres long feels so different from the car, but you get used to it as the training goes on, and as time went by it felt more natural. You have to stay tuned into everything and be very observant.”

Siobhan throughly enjoyed all aspects of her training programme involving route familiarisation as well as extensive safety training.

“I got great encouragement and fantastic training from my instructors, and I settled into it more and more as each day went by. When I passed my test I was absolutely thrilled.”

She is now a fully fledged driver and sports the brand new Bus Éireann uniform, which changed in style since last year and is now made from recycled material. Like many others who wear a uniform for work, Siobhan loves being in a job which has one, as it saves time on the daily task of choosing what to wear.

She fondly remembers someone else in her life who also used to sport the Bus Éireann uniform – her dearly departed grandfather.

“My grandad, Jerry O’Sullivan, who was originally from Blarney Street, was also a bus driver. He used to drive the 203, which in those days used to be called the No.3, and he spent many years driving around the the northside of Cork.

“He passed on around 16 years ago now, but I was very close to him when I was growing up, and he would have always encouraged me in anything I wanted to do. He knew I loved driving. I have great memories of asking him to tell me stories about his days in the army, and about his time driving the buses. If he was alive now, I bet he would not be one bit surprised if he knew that I had just qualified as a bus driver. I think he was smiling down on me when I passed my test,” she said.

Siobhan’s dad, who is also called Jerry, drove delivery vans up and down the country, and also spent years as a taxi driver in Cork.

“Dad always encouraged me too. I was always interested in cars and driving, and even from an early age I used to rob my brother’s toy cars and trucks, and had no interest in the dolls which they used to get for me. It was wheels all the way,” she laughed.

She could not wait to get her driver’s license, and as soon as she turned 17 she went for it, and successfully passed it on her first attempt, and bought herself a little car.

Siobhan’s interest in driving never waned, culminating in this very happy time for her as she joins the team operating out of Capwell depot, a former train station built in 1879, which in bygone days was the main terminus of the direct train line running from Cork to Macroom.

Regular rail passenger services were withdrawn in 1925, and the line officially closed in 1960. Bus Éireann have been operating out of Capwell for many decades since then.

The first female bus driver in Ireland was another Cork woman, Meda Shanahan from Durrus, who in 1967, was the first woman to pass the bus driver test in Ireland. She drove the school bus in Bantry, a 52-seater, travelling 250 miles a week around West Cork.

In those days, Bus Éireann was still incorporated into CIÉ, who were running school transport at the time, and the CIÉ personnel officer in Cork, Martin Murphy, said that he believed Meda would be a great inspiration to other women.

Today, there is great solidarity among the women drivers in Cork, even though they are still in a minority.

“The other women drivers have been really nice and friendly towards me. I met one or two of them in Capwell, they came over and started talking to me straight away, and were telling me all about the job. They have been really lovely and made me feel welcome and relaxed. In fact everybody has been so nice in Capwell, there is a great atmosphere, it’s a really friendly place,” said Siobhan.

Bus Éireann are currently recruiting both full and part time bus drivers in Cork, and are also recruiting for their driver training programme, the one that Siobhan completed.

According to Bus Éireann, those wishing to apply to be full- or part-time drivers are required to have a full clean Class D driver’s license, a digital tachograph card, and a driver certificate of practical competence (CPC), for public service vehicles. A digital tachograph card is a personal driver card which is required by law for all commercial truck and bus drivers.

For driver training programme applicants, they just need a valid Class B or C license, and a class D license learner permit. They also state that most importantly they look for somebody with an enthusiastic attitude and strong customer service skills, qualities that Siobhan has in abundance.

So what does she do during her time off?

“ One of my favourite things to do is go for a spin to the beach with the music on in the car. I find it really relaxing. Even since I started on the buses, driving is still something I love to do during my time off.

“Driving a car is a totally different experience to a bus of course. I also got my motorbike license, and have a bike already which I really enjoy. I’d love to buy a bigger bike,” she said.

Bus Éireann said: “As an equal opportunities employer, Bus Éireann treats all employees equally, respecting the diverse nature and individuality of staff. We welcome all applications as individuals are recruited and promoted on the basis of their ability to do the job. In particular, we welcome applications from women drivers and have set out targets within our sustainability strategy - we are targeting 50% female representation in board roles by 2025 and 10% for supervisors by 2030.”

See careers.buseireann.ie