Jonathan Welch heads to Manchester to undertake some Driver CPC training courtesy of Belle Vue
Passengers. Lots of drivers will tell you that the job would be much easier without them. There’d be fewer delays, fewer problems, interiors wouldn’t get dirty, armrests wouldn’t get broken,… I’m sure there are still a few operators out there who think the same. But they’re a necessity (or a necessary evil, if your mind works that way).
Periodic driver CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) training was first introduced in 2008, and the qualification became mandatory for all coach and bus drivers driving for hire or reward from Tuesday 13 September 2013, requiring 35 hours of relevant training every five years, the equivalent of one day per year in the classroom. Without it, drivers retain the PCV entitlement on their licence, but cannot carry those all-important fare-paying passengers.
Many in the industry, both drivers and operators, reacted negatively to the burdens of added cost and the time required. Some older and part time drivers saw it as the moment to leave the industry rather than commit to the time and expense of additional training. The then Driving Standards Agency and VOSA Chief Executive Alastair Peoples said at the time of the CPC’s introduction that it represented an important step in improving road safety: “I’d like to thank the bus, coach and haulage industry for their support so far; that includes the drivers and operators who’ve committed to the training and the wider industry who’ve been invaluable in helping to introduce Driver CPC. Driver CPC makes a valuable contribution to road safety as well as making savings for the industry.”
Over a decade later, the D-CPC qualification, has become a fact of life for those drivers who want (or maybe ‘need’ is a better word) to carry passengers.
That means, of course, that the vast majority of PCV drivers in the UK will need a D-CPC, with a few exceptions, such as those who are not carrying passengers commercially or where driving as part of their main job; the full list of exemptions can be found on the gov.uk website. Although the occasional driving jobs carried out as part of my role at CBW don’t require me to hold a D-CPC qualification, it’s good to be able to retain the knowledge and keep up to date with changes to rules and regulations.
Keeping up to date also allowed me to head over to Greater Manchester to an operator which has featured a number of times in the pages of CBW this year thanks in part to its growing collaboration with Flixbus, and that is Stockport-based Belle Vue.
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