International Women’s Day (a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women) is focusing this year on the theme of ‘Choose to Challenge’ – an opportunity to challenge inequality, call out bias, question stereotypes, and help forge a more inclusive world.

With that in mind, we caught up recently with two of our female bus drivers to learn more about what it’s like working in an industry that tends to have higher rates of male workers, what first brought them to Lothian, and who the women are in their lives who inspire them every day.

 

Meet Pip Herbert

How long have you worked for Lothian as a bus driver?
About five years now.

What interested you in working for Lothian?
When I first moved to Edinburgh about seven years ago, I couldn’t find a full-time job and some days I’d be travelling to five different jobs in one day – travelling constantly on the buses for about 2 hours’ worth of work at a time.

One day there was a route manager on the bus who asked to see my ticket. I asked him “What do you do to become a driver?” and he told me how to apply on the website. About 6 months later I got invited for an assessment and that was it! I was so excited. I’ve always loved all kinds of different vehicles, ever since I was a kid.

Generally speaking, bus driving tends to be a male-dominated profession. How do you feel being a woman working in this role?
I love it! I don’t feel like an outsider. I get so many compliments on the way I drive and how I treat my customers. Being a female driver doesn’t faze me at all.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Choose to Challenge’. Are there any stereotypes or misconceptions you’ve encountered while working in this role that you want to challenge?
People expect bus drivers to be grumpy, overweight old men. And when they come on my bus they’ll often go, “Oh you’re very glamorous for a bus driver!” and I think to myself, “Why shouldn’t I be?!”

Is there a woman in your life who inspires you?
I would have to say my mum. She’s my number one supporter – I wouldn’t be here if It wasn’t for her. When I’m driving, I like to imagine I’ve got my mum, the depot manager and road safety manager on board with me, and I drive in a way that would make her proud, and that would impress the depot and road safety managers.

What would you say to any women reading this who think that this kind of job wouldn’t necessarily be for them?
I tell [women] regularly ‘You can do it’! How could you not? If someone was worried about driving one of the larger buses, they have power steering and they’re really nimble so it’s not nearly as challenging as you’d think.

When you’re first learning it’s completely alien of course, but you get training, full support and although it’s easy for me to say, it’s so simple once you know how. I love it. I get to look out the window all day and I see the most incredibly sunsets and sunrises. It’s an amazing job!

 

Meet Yvonne Gallagher-Stewart

How long have you worked for Lothian as a bus driver?
Approximately two-and-a-half years.

What interested you in working for Lothian?
I worked for Sainsbury’s for 16 years and genuinely thought I’d never do anything other than retail. I’d always had a notion of being a driver though, and some of my younger colleagues encouraged me to go for it and did all sorts of computer wizardry to help me put together a CV.

Generally speaking, bus driving tends to be a male-dominated profession. How do you feel being a woman working in this role?
We are in the minority but there are more and more women coming in. Since I started in 2018, every training school that came through thereafter had a couple of ladies in it. It’s really good to see that, especially since when you were a kid it was always a man driving the bus, the inspectors were male, etc. We all get on really well and we’re not treated any differently. There’s always a good bit of banter, which you definitely need when you spend so much time working in isolation.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Choose to Challenge’. Are there any stereotypes or misconceptions you’ve encountered while working in this role that you want to challenge?
Nothing specific that I can think of, but I believe people could do with being a bit kinder and less quick to judge. A bit more kindness, a bit more patience would be a good place to start for us all.

Is there a woman in your life who inspires you?
Definitely my big sister. She’s a go-getter and she’s been really successful in her career, as well as being a great mum, great listener, supporter and positive role model.

And of course, my mum. Your mum knows you inside and out, supports you in all that you do, and I like to think that’s the case with my own mum.

In my previous role at Sainsbury’s I had a lot more women managers, with more women colleagues than men. A lot of those managers over the years helped me and gave great support. They give you that confidence, and it’s all about confidence.

What would you say to any women reading this who think that this kind of job wouldn’t necessarily be for them?
Go for it. Absolutely go for it! If you can drive a car reasonably well and you’re good with people, the training school does the rest. They break down all that fear and anxiety. There’s no such word as ‘can’t’, as far as I’m concerned.