Bus firm seeking female drivers

A north London bus company is holding an open day to encourage more women to become bus drivers.

Metroline is offering attendees the chance to see what is involved in the training process and to meet some of the company's female bus drivers.

The open day takes place at Metroline's Staff Training and Recruitment Centre in Wembley, north London.

Metroline runs a fleet of 1000 buses from garages in north and north-west London.

The open day is supported by Transport for London (TfL) and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU).

TfL's Clare Kavanagh, who is leading a working group to encourage more women to apply for driver positions, said: "The pros and cons for bus driving as a job are, in reality, no different for men or women.

"We are looking for people to take a pride in driving skilfully through traffic and in delivering a high quality of service to the travelling public. Clearly, women are every bit as capable of this as men."

According to Metroline, only 6% of bus drivers in London are women.

Neil Colston, Head of Recruitment and Training at Metroline said: "This Open Day is a chance for women to find out that bus driving is as accessible to them as any other job role they would choose."