Return Ticket to the Campus

Quite bizarre, suddenly you see a city bus drive onto our green campus. Behind the wheel is Roy Labruijère. He graduated in Built Environment at BUas in 2017. He now works four days a week as a transport developer at Arriva and one day a week he drives a bus.

What was that bus doing on the BUas campus? How did you get on that bus in the first place!? It's not exactly an obvious route, is it?

‘I hear that a lot,’ Roy laughs, ‘but I wanted to drive one of those big vehicles as a child. It may not have been a logical route for many people, but it was a very interesting one for me. It has eventually brought me a lot.’

First back to the starting point. How come?

‘As a child I used to watch the trains in Breda with my granddad, which grew into an interest in everything to do with rail and public transport. So the choice to study Traffic Management (now Mobility as part of Built Environment, ed.) was a logical one anyway. In the third year I did my work placement at Hermes in Eindhoven, which is part of Connexxion, and I carried out research as part of my graduation project for them. I was really comfortable there!’

From train to bus, right?

‘Yes, that interest in buses came later, but even so, that third-year placement felt like a boyhood dream come true. What I had loved so much as a child, I now saw working in real life. Or not working  because it's quite a puzzle. I studied the interchange relationship at Eindhoven station. Which buses should connect to which trains? Buses run less often in the evening, so then you have to choose. It was a very practical assignment, which suits me. The timetable was actually adjusted a year later based on my advice. That motivated me to continue working in public transport.’

And to start driving one of those buses yourself?

‘That's my supervisor’s fault,’ Roy laughs, ‘during my graduation project I was given a trial lesson as a present. Suddenly you’re a 20-year-old kid on one of those big buses. I was allowed to take lessons, but not drive yet. I got my bus driving license through Connexxion and upon graduation I started a full-time job as a bus driver in the Eindhoven region. I was just 21, driving a big vehicle through a city unknown to me. I thought it was wonderful!’

So you actually ended up in this job just like that?

‘That first trial lesson came my way and got me super enthusiastic. After that, I made a conscious decision to take a full-time job as a bus driver. I wanted to experience the other side. I think it’s important as a mobility professional to know what the shop floor is like. That shop floor, in this case, is "on the bus", on the road, in the city, with passengers often in a hurry, bad weather, snow, cramped bus stations, football games. What do you experience as a bus driver? What are the struggles? I still use that experience every day in my job as a transport developer.’

Some examples of what you experience? 

‘You always experience crazy things at Eindhoven Airport,’ Roy knows. ‘I once encountered a group of Spanish girls panicking. They had forgotten a suitcase on the bus that had taken them to the airport. I asked what bus they had come on and what time. Get in, I said – because I had to drive my ride of course – and in the meantime I’ll think about what I can do for you. I then very quickly figured out in my head where that bus should be by now. I knew where it drove to, how long it took, that it changed numbers and then drove on again. When I had figured that out, I called traffic control. I think the suitcase is in that bus, I said, can you hold it? I was right. Happy girls, happy me. A nice little puzzle and rewarding work.’

And now you are still ”on the bus”?

‘Not in a full-time job anymore; I did that for eighteen months. That’s how I had agreed it with myself. I now work as a transport developer at Arriva and still drive the bus one day a week in the Breda region. That connection with practice remains valuable. Roads are getting busier; certain routes take more time now. I know from experience how annoying it is when you’re “running behind the clock”, as we call it. Of course we always want to optimise the timetable, but you have to take different interests that are at play in practice into account.’

And your role is?

‘In my position as transport developer, I’m both operationally and strategically involved; for example, I regularly sit at the table with the province to see how we can continue to expand public transport. Choices have to be made, because, unfortunately, the money doesn't automatically grow along with it. People want to get from A to B quickly, and public transport must respond optimally to this. Speed, clarity and high frequency are essential to getting people to travel more by public transport. This is sometimes at the expense of lines that are used less frequently. Not every village can have a fixed bus line. There are other solutions and I like to think along those lines.’

What should happen in your opinion? 

‘Public transport should be included in the very first plans for a new neighbourhood or a new business location. This is still not done enough; public transport is often only looked at at the end of the process. And more investment is needed, although investment alone is not enough. If you want to get more people on public transport, you will really have to implement more flanking policies on the car side. And that's where it often goes wrong. You can build a beautiful P&R at the edge of the city, but if you don't make parking in the city much more expensive and you don't remove parking spaces in the city centre, nothing will happen. Public transport is certainly not the solution for everything, but make a clear choice about where you encourage it and where you still give space to the car.’

So plan well and make choices?

‘That’s my job. With the current shortage of driving personnel, we have to choose every time anyway. What do we ride and what don't we ride? This is currently very much in the way of the national public transport ambition. So we’re looking hard for people. I hope that with this story I might motivate recent graduates or working people to also drive a bus for a while. It’s a flexible job that you can combine well with something else, for example your own business. And students are also very welcome. It's great work with good pay.’

That’s why that bus was on the campus!

‘Yep. The driving school bus on campus allowed students to take a test drive to experience how much fun it is to drive one of these large buses. Arriva has been cooperating with BUas for some time – and in different contexts. And now we’ve teamed up to recruit students. In this way they too – like me – can gain the practical experience they can use in their future jobs.’

Interview: Maaike Dukker ‘t Hart