The Women in Bus and Coach “Spotlight On” initiative shines a light on the incredible contributions of women in all roles across the bus, coach, and community transport sector. From professional drivers and engineers to human resources experts and CEO’s, ‘Spotlight On’ will highlight the diverse talents and achievements of women in this dynamic industry.
Today we focus on and find out about:
Jenna Rush
Director & Transport Manager
North East Coach Travel Ltd
Tell us a little bit about your journey to becoming a coach driver
I joined the coach industry as part of the family business when I was 19. Although I grew up around coaches and have great memories of going on coach trips abroad with my dad, it was never a career ambition of mine to follow in his footsteps but after having my daughter at a young age it allowed me to work hours that enabled me to be home when I needed to be. I very much started from the bottom, filing paperwork, general admin work but soon knew I enjoyed it enough to want more. I passed my Transport Manager exam in 2013 (not embarrassed to say I didn’t pass first time, it is a hard exam!) and I have never looked back. I never intended on passing my driving test and adding coach driver to my list of duties as I had more than enough to keep me busy but after numerous altercations with male drivers looking at their data from a Transport Manager’s perspective I felt inclined to become a coach driver to show them I did in fact know what I was talking about.
How did you get to where you are today?
Through a lot of hard work and determination. I think it is easy to assume that when joining a family business you can just slot straight into a role and not have to put in the hard work to climb the ladder but this industry is not an easy industry to work in, you have to muck in and put a lot of effort into a business that is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Did you experience any challenges getting to where you are today?
I think some of my challenges definitely came from some of the males already in the industry. Especially those that seem to think they can do better than the women and that we are not up to doing the same job as them. I have had numerous arguments over the years and feel like I have had to prove myself on more than one occasion to be the one that is correct, and I am a typical woman that loves to be right! I wouldn’t say this was a particular challenge but I always recall the story of going to collect a new coach and taking a driver with me to drive it back, the staff came in the room to greet us and shook the hand of the driver and introduced themselves to him and must have just assumed I was his partner as they never really acknowledged me which I just laughed off at the time. It is definitely a male dominated industry, and we need some more females to even it out for the rest of us.
If so, how did you overcome them?
I just worked harder, I don’t like being told I can’t do anything, so it makes me more determined to work harder in order to prove people wrong.
What do you like about the sector? What inspired you to get involved?
I love that no two days are the same. Each day is a new challenge and although the job of being a transport manager can be a stressful one it is very rewarding. I don’t know about the rest of the country but here in the North East I love the camaraderie among coach operators, and we are all here to have each other’s backs and work together to help each other out wherever possible.
What did a typical day look like?
A typical day for me is normally a day in the office doing a variety of jobs, whether this be route planning and allocating work to drivers, working through compliance tasks, dealing with any driver or workshop issues etc. there is such a variety of tasks to be done each day.
What advice would you give to women thinking about a career in the bus, coach or community transport sector?
I would say that if it is something you are thinking about then to absolutely do it! I love seeing more and more females join the industry and I am very much a girl’s girl.
What has been your bus, coach or community transport sector career highlight?
I never thought something as dreadful as the times of Covid would be brought up as part of my career highlights but participating in the Honk for Hope campaign and hearing the appreciation and support that followed was just amazing to see the industry come together the way that it did. I won an award with The UK Bus and Coach awards in 2021 for ‘Impact on the Coach Industry by an Individual’.
What three things could the Bus, Coach and Community Transport sector do to improvement the industry for Women?
I would have said to have more recognition for women in the industry but that is exactly what you as an organisation are doing and are doing a very good job at it.
What changes have you seen since in the sector since you joined?
There is more support from Trade Associations giving the industry more of a voice to hopefully have people better understand us as an industry and not just lump us in with ‘bus’ as we in the coach industry are a world apart from bus companies and we needed that help to get the recognition we deserve.
Thank you for sharing Jenna, your story truly makes a difference.
To find out more about who Jenna works for, and career opportunities visit: https://northeastcoachtravel.co.uk/
