Saggart woman takes her place behind wheel as one of 84 women bus drivers

By Aideen O’Flaherty

A SAGGART woman is among the first all-female graduating class of Dublin Bus drivers.

Sinead Hilliard graduated alongside four other Dublin women who will be taking to the road now that they have completed their six-week training programme.

This comes at a time when Dublin Bus are actively trying to increase the number of female drivers at the helm of the Dublin Bus fleet, as research has shown that women drivers have fewer accidents and deliver more satisfactory customer service.

Ray Coyne, CEO of Dublin Bus, said: “We decided to actively work to recruit more women to the role and it’s fantastic to celebrate the graduation today of our first all-women class from our training centre here in Phibsborough. Our drivers are the face of the company and the job is a hugely rewarding.”

The number of female drivers fell when Dublin Bus stopped recruiting for a six-year period during the recession.

The graduation of the five new recruits brings the total number of women drivers to 84, and Dublin Bus hope to have almost double that figure by 2017.

Dublin Bus are inviting any prespective candidates, male or female, to apply through www.dublinbus.ie/humanresources