Planner
Planners in the coach industry have two different roles depending on the types of travel services the coach company provides. Some coach companies provide scheduled travel, usually on long distance or city-to-city routes, whereas others companies provide one-off and contract hire, and may also deliver coach trips and holidays.Planners for scheduled coach services are responsible for drawing up plans for timetables, making sure that their services can run safely and cost efficiently whilst also meeting, as closely as possible, customer demand.
Timetable scheduling is not a quick task, and as soon as a schedule has been released, data is gathered on service performance and usage, ready for reviewing the schedule and re-planning. Coach timetables, or schedules, may also have to be amended at short notice; for example if there are planned road works which require the bus service to be diverted.
Planners for non-scheduled coach services do not plan so far ahead. They have to work closely with bookings and operations staff to find out what has been organised so that they can plan vehicle and staff usage. They also must inform the operations team of availability of vehicles so that too many bookings aren’t taken.
All planners must make certain that enough resources are always available for delivering coach services. The resources they have to consider include staff and vehicles, and they must also take into account requirements for maintenance of vehicles which requires them to be off the road for certain amounts of time.
The starting salary for a planner is approximately £16000. This can vary depending on the size of the coach operation and also due to responsibilities. Experienced planner can earn £25000 or more.Go Back
Working environment
Planners work in an office normally based at a coach company's head office, or in the case of large operations, regional office. They use a computer and work on specialist systems designed for scheduling and planning timetables and vehicle rotas as well as the standard computing packages.Planners are normally expected to dress smartly, though they usually do not have to wear a uniform. If they spend any time in the coach depot, they will be expected to wear high visibility clothing for their own safety.
The normal working hours for a planner are between 36 and 38 each week. Most planners work standard office hours although occasionally overtime may be required.Go Back
Skills and interests
Planners need to have a very strong ability to work with large amounts of complex data.The most important skills for a planner are:
- methodical approach to work
- attention to detail and accuracy
- analytical and numerical ability
- organisational and planning skills
- good communication abilities
- ability to work under own initiative but also as part of a team.Go Back
Entry into the role
Planners are employed by coach companies and mostly work in the companies' head offices. Jobs can be advertised in the local press or on coach company websites. They may also use specialist publications or recruitment websites.Normally planners need to demonstrate that they have very strong skills in working with numbers. Some employers will expect at least an A level or equivalent in Mathematics or Statistics. Applicants should also be able to demonstrate that they are well organised and confident in handling large amounts of data.Go Back
Opportunities
Planners can progress their careers by moving into operations or performance management. They can take on roles including performance manager or operations director. They may also move into organising bookings and planning coach services, such as trips and holidays.Schedulers can also study for industry related qualifications including:
- NVQ level 2 in road passenger transport operations (offered by Edexcel and EDI)
- NVQ level 3 in road passenger transport operations (offered by EDI).
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Useful links
- Confederation of Passenger Transport
- Route One (magazine)
- Bus & Coach Professional (magazine)
- Coach and Bus Monthly (magazine)