Swindon’s Bus Company is hosting a recruitment event on Saturday 30 May 2026 to encourage more women to consider a career as a bus driver. The session, held at the company’s Barnfield Road depot, will offer local residents the opportunity to get behind the wheel for a test drive and learn more about the profession.
The event, which runs from 10am to 2pm, aims to address the current gender imbalance within the transport sector. Nationally, women make up only about 10 percent of bus drivers. To help address this, the company’s parent organisation, the Go-Ahead Group, set a target to increase female representation across its bus companies to 20 percent by 2025 and has since announced a goal of 50 percent gender parity by 2035.
During the event, attendees can speak with current drivers and trainers to discuss career pathways, pay, and available benefits. Because space for the test drives is limited, those interested are encouraged to book a slot in advance through an online form.
This initiative comes as the industry faces a national driver shortage, with the Confederation of Passenger Transport noting a 3.4 percent vacancy rate for bus drivers across the country. By opening up these roles to a wider pool of applicants, local operators hope to strengthen their teams while offering new job opportunities within the community.
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