Bus driving in Guernsey

Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands, just off the French coast. The island is a British Crown Dependency which means that the language is English, the currency is the Pound and we drive on the left but we are not a part of the UK or the EU. Many road names are in French.

CT Plus Guernsey has been contracted by the island’s government (locally known as The States of Guernsey) to operate the island’s bus services since April 2012. We currently operate 20 scheduled routes and a variety of school services, alongside a varied range of special services throughout the course of every year.

Our services start at just after 0500hrs and end at just after 2145hrs each weekday. Services start slightly later and finish slightly earlier on Sundays. On Bank Holidays, we run a full Sunday service. We also operate a number of late services (until around 0100hrs) on Friday and Saturday nights; these are carried out by a team of drivers on a dedicated roster.

Our principal fleet comprises of Wrightbus Streetvibe’s.

From May 2022 all drivers will be paid a training rate of £10.08 Rate 1 and £12.94 Rate 2 per hour during route training.

For an experienced PCV Holder arriving onto Guernsey, we would expect training to take 2-3 weeks. We understand that everyone is different and you will be given as much or as little training as you require, until you are fully comfortable to be operate on your own, however the training officer will need to sign you off on each route before you can go out on your own.

This training will involve familiarisation with the local geography, vehicle type training, route training and ticket machine training.

Following on from this training, experienced drivers will be paid at £15.00 per hour on Rate 1 (all work before 18:30hrs Mon-Sat) and £18.00 per hour on Rate 2 (all work after 18:30hrs and all day Sunday). If you work any of your Rest days this will be paid at the enhanced rate of £18.00 per hour.

20 days paid holiday plus bank holidays to be taken by agreement. It will not always be possible to approve holidays at popular times such as Christmas.

Yes – we will provide uniforms (except shoes) which you will be expected to wear.

You will complete a uniform request on your first day but until you have received your uniform, you will be expected to present yourself for work in appropriate attire. This will consist of a shirt / blouse, navy trousers / skirt and smart shoes. 

There are fines imposed by the States of Guernsey for anyone not wearing uniform of £50 per occurrence and these will be passed on to employees.

No – this is your responsibility. There are frequent flights from Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Bristol and Exeter. There is also a frequent ferry service from Portsmouth and Poole. Other flights are available during the summer season. Please check the Guernsey Airport website.

You will be guaranteed 40 hours work and since there is no restriction on working hours on Guernsey there will be opportunity for overtime and rest day working subject to our judgement of safe limits which are in line with UK domestic hours. The peaks in service mean that, particularly on schooldays, a small number of the shifts are spread-overs with unpaid breaks.

You will need to apply for a PSV Permit (issued by The States of Guernsey) and pass an Enhanced DBS check in order to be eligible for work as PCV driver on Guernsey.

Initially, you will not need to exchange your driving licence. The States of Guernsey allow drivers to retain their original licences for a period of 12 months from their arrival. If you intend to stay any longer than this period, then you will be legally required to submit your driving licence for exchange to one issued by The States of Guernsey.

Upon your arrival, CT plus Guernsey will assist you in applying for your PSV Permit and will arrange the paperwork for an Enhanced DBS Check to be carried out.

You will need an Enhanced DBS check in order for you to be able to drive a bus on the island.

The cost of the initial check will be paid for by the Company but you will be required to subscribe to the electronic renewal service. The electronic renewal service currently costs around £13 per year and you will be responsible for meeting this ongoing cost.

Generally speaking you will be able to work for up to five years. You will need to apply for a “Right to Work” document – we will arrange this for you.

You can bring your immediate family with you, however you would have to go on a 5 year licence - Medium term (which the company provides and pays for). If you do choose to bring any immediate family to the island you would have to find your own accommodation in an Open or Local Market property.

If you then decided to leave Guernsey before the 5 year period (e.g. after 1 year) you would have to pay back the remaining 4 years for that permit. You would be asked to sign a financial recovery agreement on arrival.

No – if you are ill you will need to pay the Doctor or Dentist.

Guernsey has a lot of cars in a small space so it can be very busy. Roads are narrow and many are lined with stone walls so careful driving is very important. Guernsey also has FILTER IN TURN at certain junctions, for UK drivers these look like Yellow Box Junctions, it is very important that you familiarise yourself with how these FILTERS work. Buses are limited to 25mph and other traffic is restricted to 25 - 35mph.