Bus
driving,
explained.
A complete Danish reference work on the bus licence (cat. D) — from licence categories and Code 95 to driving/rest times, dimensions and stopping distance. Read the articles. Use the calculators. Ask the assistant.
11
Calculators
29
Articles
∞
Questions
Technical elevation of a 2-axle bus with dimensioning of length and height. The front axle is highlighted — the width may be no more than 2.55 m and the height 4.10 m.
§ 01 — What you can do here
Read, calculate, drive — or ask.
Seven tools from booking to departure — for students, drivers and hauliers.
Tools in the trade
§ 02 — About the trade
Bus driver
A bus driver drives a bus carrying passengers — city bus, regional service, tourist coach or accessible transport — and is responsible for both the vehicle and the people on board. The trade is regulated all the way through: a bus driving licence, Code 95, EU driving and rest times, the daily departure check and disability-aware passenger handling all belong to it. Passenger transport differs from freight transport in that the load gets on and off by itself.
Questions about the trade
What does a bus driver do?
A bus driver runs the bus to a timetable and is at the same time responsible for passenger safety from boarding to alighting. The day begins with the departure check — the fixed round of the bus, where tyres (at least 1.6 mm tread depth), lights, brakes, doors, emergency equipment and the lift or ramp are inspected before the bus is put into service. During the shift, ticketing, information, assistance for passengers with reduced mobility and wheelchair users, and conflict handling come on top of the driving itself. The driver card stays in the tachograph all day, and the activity is switched manually between driving, other work, availability and break. The work takes place in city buses, regional services, tourist coaches, school transport and accessible transport.
How do you become a bus driver?
The route to becoming a bus driver runs from a car licence via a bus licence to Code 95. Category B is the prerequisite; then you choose D1 (no more than 16 people besides the driver, length no more than 8 m) or D (more than 8 seats besides the driver). Category D normally requires the age of 24 and D1 the age of 21, but the limits can be lowered through a vocational education programme or an initial qualification. The licence requires a group 2 medical certificate and a valid first aid certificate. Professional driving additionally requires the initial qualification from an approved training centre — including disability awareness training — after which Code 95 is added. Code 95 is valid for 5 years and is renewed with at least 35 hours of approved periodic Driver CPC training.
How do driving and rest times work in passenger transport?
The driving and rest time rules apply to buses constructed to carry more than 9 people including the driver — the same Regulation (EC) 561/2006 as for lorries. After no more than 4.5 hours of driving, a break of at least 45 minutes must be taken, which may be split into 15 + 30 minutes in that order. Daily driving time is 9 hours and may be extended to 10 hours no more than twice a week; the week may hold a maximum of 56 hours of driving and two weeks together a maximum of 90 hours. Daily rest is at least 11 hours. Everything is recorded on the digital tachograph under Regulation (EU) 165/2014.
What is the difference between regular services and occasional coach services?
A regular service is the carriage of passengers at specified intervals along a specified route with fixed stopping points, and it requires an authorisation from the authorities. Occasional services — coach hire — are everything that is not a regular service: a group brought together on the initiative of the customer or of the operator itself. It requires no route authorisation, but must be documented with a journey form completed before departure. The distinction has consequences in the driving day: a route of no more than 50 km may be exempt from the driving and rest time regulation, while the 12-day rule lets a driver on a single occasional international service postpone the weekly rest for up to 12 consecutive 24-hour periods after a preceding regular weekly rest of at least 45 hours.
How does a bus driver assist passengers with reduced mobility?
Passenger handling is the part of the trade that is about getting passengers safely on, aboard, secured and off again. A wheelchair passenger boards via a manual folding ramp or an electric lift, and the bus can be lowered towards the kerb if it has kneeling. In a low-floor city bus the wheelchair is secured passively, facing rearwards against a padded backrest plate; in a minibus or a coach it faces forwards with 4-point tie-downs on the wheelchair frame — never on the wheels — plus a separate occupant belt around the body. The rights follow Regulation (EU) 181/2011 on the rights of bus and coach passengers, and the technical requirements for an accessible bus are set out in UNECE Regulation No. 107.
Based on: Forordning (EF) 561/2006 · Forordning (EU) 165/2014 · Direktiv (EU) 2022/2561 · Direktiv 2006/126/EF · Forordning (EF) 1073/2009 · Forordning (EU) 181/2011 · UNECE Regulation No. 107 · BEK 407/2018
§ 03 — Read now
Featured articles
Featured articles
All articles →§ 04 — Tools
Work it out.
Enter the speed, reaction time and road grip — and the bus's stopping distance is calculated: reaction distance + braking distance. Double the speed and the braking distance quadruples. An estimate, because road conditions and load shift the figure.
Open calculators→Example · Stopping distance
80 km/h · dry asphalt
§ 05 — Trade in Action
How it looks craftsmanship.
Three classic working tasks from behind the wheel — drawn as blueprint: pre-departure stance check, wheelchair lashing and tachograph reading.
Work processes
Final check of parking space number
The driver walks through the cabin before departure and notes the registered standing-room number: he reads the sign on the door post and checks that the yellow floor lines mark the standing area — so the bus never exceeds its capacity.
Wheelchair loading with 4-point securing
The driver kneels behind the wheelchair on the marked wheelchair space and secures it with four red cargo straps to mounting eyes in floor and wall while the passenger sits forward-facing with the hip belt on.
Tachograph reading of remaining driving time
The driver inserts the driver card in the tachograph's card slot and reads the green LCD screen's weekly driving time and notes the remaining time before the weekly limit in regulation 561/2006 on a block by the steering wheel.
§ 06 — Next step
One question
in Danish.
The AI assistant can check driving/rest times, explain licence categories and code 95, calculate stopping distance and help with dimensions. Write to it as you would to a colleague in the garage.
Safety
Come home in the same state
Du er alene på førerpladsen, og bag dig står mennesker op uden sele. Det du gør med dørene, spejlene og speederen rammer næsten altid en anden end dig selv: cyklisten i højresvinget, den ældre der endnu ikke har sat sig, hånden der sidder i klemme i karmen. Samtidig slider vagten på dig: timer i det samme sæde, en køreplan der er bagud fra første tur, og konflikter du skal klare alene med hånden på rattet. Derfor er afgangstjekket, pausen og de to sekunder ved dørene lige så meget dit arbejde som at føre bussen.
Safety course
23 modules · 206 min · 5 farer der kan dræbe
§ — Where can you read about Bus driving licence?
Find a school nær dig.
Buschauffør / rutebilchauffør (personbefordring) is offered at 12 places in the country. The list is informational — always check the latest and complete offering on the Education Guide's vocational education map.
Schools offering the programme
Sjælland
01- EUC Sjælland — Næstved
Syddanmark
03- AMU SYD — KoldingAMU
- AMU-Fyn — OdenseAMU
- DEKRA / JUUL Erhvervsskole — Vejen
Midtjylland
04- Learnmark Efteruddannelse — HorsensAMU
- Tradium — RandersAMU
- Uddannelsescenter Holstebro (UCH) — Holstebro
- UCplus (Aarhus) — Højbjerg
Nordjylland
02- AMU Nordjylland — AalborgAMU
- EUC Nordvest — Thisted
Bus udbydes færre steder end lastbil; AMU-buskørekort (kat. D) flere steder — se ug.dk.