New bus drivers and conductors will now have to pass a BTEC qualification specially designed for them.
The new vocational qualification will cover defensive driving skills, health and safety, security, the London bus industry and communication skills.
The BTEC qualification and a similar one for bus service controllers will follow three to six months of structured training.
Meg Hillier, London Assembly member for Waltham Forest, has welcomed the extra training and believes London bus journeys will be a lot safer and more
enjoyable.
Ms Hillier said: "Five million bus journeys are made in London every day that's two million more than on the tube.
"This means that the capital depends on its bus drivers and conductors like no one else.
"These new qualifications will help provide the confidence-boosting recognition, support and career development that they deserve. This should help attract the new drivers that London buses so urgently need."
She said: "This is also good news for bus passengers, for thousands of Londoners and visitors to our city a polite, helpful and careful driver is the difference between a good bus journey and a bad one."
May 29, 2003 11:30
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