Bus/Rail Passenger Transport Clerk

Also known as:

Passenger Transport Clerk
Rail Passenger Clerk

Introduction

Bus and rail passenger transport clerks deal with enquiries about departure times, fares, routes or connections. They also sell tickets and travel cards.

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Work Activities

Although bus and rail passenger transport clerks work in different sectors of the transport industry, their jobs share many similarities. For example, both have a lot of contact with the public either over the telephone or face-to-face.

Transport clerks answer enquiries about departure times, fares, routes or connections. They use different sources of information including computer databases.

They also sell and issue tickets or travel cards, often using a computerised system to produce them. The structure of fares can be fairly complicated and it is important that the customer is sold the correct class of ticket.

Staff working in larger travel centres may specialise in ticket sales or enquiry work. It is more likely, however, that these duties will be shared amongst staff.

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Personal Qualities and Skills

You must have an interest in working closely with the public. This requires politeness, clear speech, a willingness to help, and tact.

Travel centres are often busy and it is important that you can cope with working under pressure. Timetables and different classes of tickets can be complicated and passengers are often in a hurry to catch their bus or train and may not always be patient or polite.

You must be able to work accurately, especially when dealing with money, and for some posts, where you are dealing face to face with the public, you will need a smart appearance.

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Pay and Opportunities

The pay rates given below are approximate.

Salaries for passenger transport clerks are in the range of £14,500 - £17,000 a year, rising to around £19,000 - £22,000 a year.

Passenger transport clerks work a 37-40 hour week, which may include shift work, evenings, weekends and public holidays. Overtime may be available.

Employment is with bus and coach operators throughout the UK, with Train Operating Companies and Eurostar.

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Adult Opportunities

It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Previous relevant experience in customer service, clerical administrative, call centre or retail sales/telesales work is helpful.

• 12% of bus and rail passenger transport clerks work part-time.

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