Bus driver Julie Davis balances work with family

Once Julie Davis and family shifted to a remote farmlet on the East Coast, office work, which she had done previously, was no longer an option. But Julie needed some work.

She hadn’t considered school bus driving until her husband discovered the local bus company was looking for drivers, and would train them. She realised that this could work in perfectly with her family responsibilities, which included their young son, Stephen.

She tapped into a course at the local marae, sat the test to get her licence, and started work as a relief driver. Then the company offered her a permanent part-time job. “I started on a really windy, twisty gravel road up in the hills and I drove that run until Stephen started school four years later. He came with me if my husband was unable to look after him.”

Julie’s current route is even more convenient. “The bus run I do now is straight up and down our road with a couple of side roads and that works in beautifully with getting my own boys to school.”

The only downside is the low income. “You don’t get much chance to get anything more in the way of hours, unless a school trip comes up, which means you get a low pay packet. You really need some other income or background behind you.” However, Julie has no childcare or travel costs, and gets school holidays off work.

She loves her job and how it fits into her community.  “I really enjoy being out and about seeing all the changes. We’ve got lambs one day, calves another, paddocks ploughed up, crops growing, top-dressers working.

“You’re involved in your community, communicating with the parents as well as the kids. I know all the families on my run.
 
“If you want childcare for your kids you know who’s around, who’s at home, who likes kids. It’s community networking – it works the other way round too, they can tap into me for childcare after school if they are caught out. You make friendships in this job.”