Where to land a job driving entertainer coaches?

[sivrtnge2]

I wanted to drive buses for a living too... I got stuck driving this little pickup truck all over the country instead  . Maybe if I go get me one of them there C.D.L. thingys I can practice for a week or so...give or take a few days...I just might end up driving for "Momma Knows...Momma Knows !!!
--
BILL

[circusboy90210]

exactly bk that's what my dad& lots of cats around the cab stand were saying back in the day. Alot of them were ex truck drivers who were dissatisfied with life on the road. I did not get my full cdl class a till spring 07 @ schneider national. (worst mistake in my whole life but it got me my full cdl. ) However the big companies are truly allways hiring out there. the turnover is incredible because of the  seniority system which keeps the noobs perpetually broke till they put some time in (generally 3 weeks /2 months)unless you know how to hustle your own rides. Charllies lmousine service is one of the biggest & keeps the best cars. They also have many superstrech. Presidential & bell trans are sister company's if you have the opportunity get in there first they have better clientel plus opportunity's to get in with alan waxman group more directly. Bell trans does farm out work for them but not as often. abassador has all good vehicles & better door @ the airport now. Plus they have less but better doors @ th3e hotels. Once you get in with these you will start meeting people with connections to the entertainer industry. ;-)
If you really want big bucks you have to know the doormen intimatly & play the game then get in the big "trucks" & the small private companies.

[John316]

CB,

If I know Ilya (which I don't very well) he doesn't want to get into the "entertainment" ring. He just wants a job to keep him going, when not doing his own gigs. I also don't think that he would go to Vegas to drive luxury limos (I think that he is from New Jersey). He just wants some off season work...Not to get into the "money" circles that you run in.

JMHO

Merry Christmas,

God bless,

John

[ilyafish]

You hit the nail on the head John :-)

Vegas is not my destination of choice

[circusboy90210]

try Atlantic city then ;-)

[ilyafish]

I am looking for more of a nationwide gig than one within my state.  Also, I am more interested not in the nightlife/limo/party bus scene rather than driving an entertainer coach for musicians....and not even necessarily huge names that you see on the grammys or anything, just any musicians in general

[RJ]

Some of the "professional" school bus drivers are a joke.

John -

Obviously, you've never been thru CA's school bus driver training program, which, btw, is the envy of nearly every other state in the nation.

Minimum of 20 hrs of classroom training, including first aid.

Minimum of 20 hrs of behind-the-wheel.  (Most newbies need 30 - 40 in a stick-shift, especially a RoadRanger.)

Before starting the above training, you must take and pass the written exams for a Class B/P CDL.  You must also take and pass the DL-51 DOT physical.

After completing the classroom training, you must take another 1 hr written exam at the CHP office that administers the School Bus program locally.

Only after passing all of the above are you allowed to take your behind-the-wheel exam.

Lots of folk can get all of the above done, but then totally blow it on the BTW. 

Why?

Because it's 2 - 2.5 hrs long with a CHP officer who specializes in school bus operations riding shotgun - and these guys DON'T mess around!

If you don't pass the pre-trip inspection (which is even more rigorous than the pre-trip that's posted over on BNO) with the officer glaring over your shoulder, you get to pay another 58 bucks to try again, without even turning a wheel.

If you pass the pre-trip, then it's time for the road trip, which includes all of the federal CDL requirements,  plus parallel parking, RR crossing etiquette, student crossing etiquette, etc.  Slip up here (like forgetting to take the keys out of the ignition when leaving the driver's seat for ANY reason, or allowing the coach to roll back, even slightly, on an incline when starting from rest), and the officer drives the bus back to the office, and you get to pay another 58 bucks to try again.

You'd also better learn to do it with a stick-shift coach, too, otherwise you'll be restricted to automatics only.  If you're doing it in a stick-shift, you'd better know how to dead-throttle start smoothly (he'll actually ask you to do so!), double clutch w/o giving him whiplash both upshifting and downshifting, plus, if it's a RoadRanger or similar, you'd better know how to skip-shift and straight shift - smoothly.  (One officer always put a styrofoam cup of water on the dash - if you spilled while shifting, you failed.)

If you take the exam in an automatic, he'll want you to demonstrate manually shifting the coach properly, too.

Oh, one other thing - if you live anywhere near the foothills, it's guaranteed that your driving test will include mountain driving.  Plus you'll have to demonstrate that you know how to hang chains on the bus!

I'm proud to say that I trained a lot of school bus, as well as transit bus drivers here in CA, and very few of them were "jokes", as you called it.  Primarily because the training program weeds them out - at least it does for the big transit-style skoolies most commonly found here (think Crowns & Gilligs).

And just FYI - most of CA's transit agencies require 8 - 10 weeks of 8 hrs/day training before letting a driver loose on the streets.  Do the math - that's 64 - 80 hours of training, 90% of which is BTW.  Virtually the same requirements as the skoolies, just w/o first aid in the classroom.  Charter bus drivers, too, must pass similar requirements if they're going to be hauling school kids on charters.

CA's strict on bus drivers - and operator's too.  That's probably why, overall, the state has a pretty good safety record, compared to elsewhere.

Now back to our regularly scheduled bus chatter. . .

FWIW & HTH. . .

[John316]

RJ,

Sorry, I should have said in our area (and I also said "some" ). You should come out here and train...We need guys like you to train our school bus drivers. Thanks for the correction.

Merry Christmas,

God bless,

John

Ilya, here is your thread back .

[ilyafish]

  thank you John!

I should probably say 'well this about wraps it up folks!'

hahaha

[John316]

Ilya,

Hope the info here helped...I'm not exactly sure that it did though. I hope you find your job.

Merry Christmas,

God bless,

John

[ilyafish]

It definately did help alot, thank you all for all the information!

blessings,

ilya

[wingnut]

You've gotten a lot of good advice ie: CDL, must be able to drive with one hand on the wheel and one in the bay rummaging through the tool box...you have to be able to fix everything.  I'll tell you how I got a job driving entertainer coaches, exactly what you're looking for, nationwide tours.  I called every single tour bus company in the United States.  I started with the biggest firms, I drove school buses at the time and every afternoon between routes I'd start calling.  "Do you have experience"  "I've driven trucks and buses..." CLICK.  I got hung up on repeatedly.  They really didn't care that I had lots of OTR experience, they weren't going to hire a tour bus driver who had no experience working for or around celebrities, that was key.
But I kept at it every day and the companies I called got smaller and smaller.  One day instead of being hung up on, the voice on the other end of the phone said "Darling where have you been, I knew you'd call."  It seems they had been looking for a female driver for a cosmetics tour and I was on a plane the next day. 
Just keep at it, befriend other drivers, be available for opportunities that arise, often they will need a 2nd driver for part of a tour.  If you live near a major airport then it doesn't matter where the bus lot is...the Nashville area is where you should focus your attention.  Also, start inquiring in the spring and keep calling back all summer long.  Summer is the high season for tours and that's when you'll find the 2nd seat opportunities.  You are a driver, butler, mechanic and maid, and you have to know when to be invisible...especially when fights break out.  The rock n rollers fight a lot. 
Having driven trucks, school buses, passenger buses and entertainer coaches, if I had to drive for a living ever again I wouldn't do anything but entertainer coaches.  First of all, it's a nice ride...trucks will beat you to death.  You eat like a king (oh did I mention you have to stock the bus as well?), on the bus and at venues, you'll never have to pay for a meal, stay in a 5 star hotel every night...and if you're not too exhausted you get backstage passes to the shows...mostly I was sleeping at venues, though.
Yea, it was pretty cool.  I'd do it again if the opportunity arose.     

[circusboy90210]

exactly bk that's what my dad& lots of cats around the cab stand were saying back in the day. a lot of them were ex truck drivers who were dissatisfied with life on the road. I did not get my full cdl class a till spring 07 @ Schneider national. (worst mistake in my whole life but it got me my full cdl. ) However the big companies are truly allways hiring out there. the turnover is incredible because of the seniority system which keeps the noobs perpetually broke till they put some time in (generally 3 weeks /2 months)unless you know how to hustle your own rides. Charlies limousine service is one of the biggest & keeps the best cars. They also have many superstrech. Presidential & bell trans are sister company's if you have the opportunity get in there first they have better clientele plus opportunity's to get in with Alan waxman group more directly. Bell trans does farm out work for them but not as often. ambassador has all good vehicles & better door @ the airport now. Plus they have less but better doors @ the3e hotels. Once you get in with these you will start meeting people with connections to the entertainer industry. ;-)
If you really want big bucks you have to know the doormen intimately & play the game then get in the big "trucks" & the small private companies.

[circusboy90210]

you must be talking about las vegas,New Mexico ,thats not how it's done here in sin city.Only one location here for CDL ,testing ,licensing,renewals,and the econo ain't that great tourisim down,nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the country with another estimated 10,000 to be laid off before it's all over.have a nice nite.Van

no that is how it works in sin city.. I worked for bell trans on industrial call them and ask for your self.many other companys have third party testing like allied moving & storage out by the race track 3 building down from carol shelby's shop... believe you me I actually know what I"M talking about I have to many road hours zipping around las vegas & nv to not know the truth.

[cody]

CB, one point you talk about having a class a CDL, another point you talk about having a different class CDL, you asked me if I knew of any states you could apply in to get a new drivers license cause yours was revolked for drunk driving, I cornfused, I'm not sure what the question is much less the answer anymore lol.