Training Day 1 - Classroom

The training was done in a Training Room at the State Transit Authority’s offices on Cleveland St, Strawberry Hills. The start time was 07.30. There was a 40 minute lunch break and 2 15 minute coffee breaks. The day ended at 16.10. There are 12 trainee drivers in the course. Technically, we are being trained to achieve a “Certificate III in Transport & Distribution (Road Transport) and a Medium Rigid driver’s licence.

The day contained the following sections:
1) Welcome and Housekeeping – lecturer self introduction, fire procedures, toilets, etc;
2) Traineeship Overview – an overview of the training course;
3) Recruitment HR Sign Up – filled in forms for bank account (for pay), tax and signed a contract (details of which I’ll describe another day);
4) State Transit Overview – organisation charts, etc;
5) Equity – behaviour in work place, sexual harassment, respect for other peoples’ values, religion, etc;
6) Occupational Health and Safety, Common Bus Operator Hazards – safety for yourself, colleagues and passengers (‘customers’) including a video on how to avoid back problems by adjusting the driver’s seat correctly and simple back exercises;
7) Role of Bus Driver – a description, in general terms, of the various responsibilities a driver has;
8) Drug & Alcohol Testing Awareness – there are random drug tests. Interestingly, a driver can have a blood-alcohol level of .02 (not zero as I would have expected). This is to allow for alcohol which might be present in some medicines (cough syrups, etc.) and food. A small glass (285ml) of beer puts you over the allowable level for 1 hour;
9) Mobile Phones – absolutely not allowed while the driver is in the bus, even if parked. The Authority does not want photos in the newspapers of a driver using a phone when it might look like s/he is driving (too embarrassing and it has happened).

We were given 3 booklets (and a number of handouts): a “Trainee Induction Handouts” (165 pages), “Trainee Information Booklet” (51 pages) and a “Employee Folder” (perhaps 50 pages).

The training course is scheduled to take 19 days. If I stay on schedule (extensions are possible), I’ll be on the road, by myself, with real passengers, on Tuesday, October 17th.