Gourtto STORY (Summer 2024)

At the "Work Station", we will continue to introduce people who work on subways and buses.
This series focuses on the backside of municipal transportation, which is hard to know in daily life. We will deliver interviews that did not fit in the magazine as a web-only article!　This is an interview with Mr. A, who joined Transportation Bureau in FY2023 and works as a bus crew member.

Challenge from Inexperienced Experience
Mr. A, who appeared in the interview, had a neat and crisp impression. At the time of the interview, Mr. A had been working with customers for only two months.
"There are a lot of things to do, such as diamonds and customer response, and I'm still doing my best. First of all, we consider safe and secure driving so that there are no accidents."
Ensure that customers have completed seating. Be careful if there are any customers standing from the seat while driving. Before and after the brake operation, keep an eye on the inside of the car, and announcements in the car are also essential. You have to keep the service schedule. Even those who are impatient due to insufficient balance at the time of payment can be treated with plenty of time.……。 Multitasking that just listening to the story will not be any more. "I'm getting used to it little by little," says A.
Mr. A is a former cook. When I thought about my future career, I liked big cars and driving, so I aimed to be a bus crew. Since he did not have a large two-type license required to drive a bus, it will be a challenge from obtaining a license. In comparison with various bus companies, Mr. A chose City of Yokohama, Transportation Bureau, which has a bus crew training course. The Transportation Bureau will bear the cost of obtaining a large two-type license on behalf of the individual.
"In the bus crew training course, you can pay for the cost of obtaining a license, and even if you have no experience, you can provide training tailored to that person. By the time I was assigned to a sales office after the four-month training period, I was able to drive with confidence, so I realized that it was a very good system."
After joining Transportation Bureau, she received classroom training at the Safety Education Center, a training facility, and obtained a license at a training camp at a driving school. After that, he gained a sense of vehicle operation in a training course in Niiwa-cho, Kohoku-ku.
"There were plastic bottles lined up on the ground in the course, and I practiced driving so as not to hit tires. If you start thinking, "It's okay," you will burst. I get off the car immediately and check many times that my senses and the mirror look different, and that the actual car body track is different."
In the training, students learn not only driving but also customer service skills. I learned their skills by riding a bus driven by Gold Mustard Leiber, an excellent bus crew member who is subject to "no mistakes, no accidents, and no complaints." Mr. A, who had heard rumors about Masterd Leiber's high customer service skills, also said that he saw the person's smile and immediately felt "it's true" after riding. I searched while learning from my seniors to see if I could incorporate that technology into myself.
"I'm sometimes told that my face is hard and scary. I'm conscious of softening my expression. In addition, we strive to provide better customer service with awareness of voice calls. For example, some people who are pushing a stroller say, "I have to fix the stroller quickly," or worry about the surrounding eyes and are impatient. I'm trying to add a word to those people, "I'm slow and okay."

Blessed with respectable instructors, seniors, and colleagues, he looks back on the days of the training, saying that it was "very fun." During this short working period, customers gave me praise, and I work hard every day, saying, "Some people are watching."

There are people who need only one bus.
The transportation industry is facing a "2024 problem" and a decrease in the number of license holders of large two-type licenses, and Transportation Bureau is no exception. Transportation Bureau is trying to ease hiring conditions and improve treatment with the aim of increasing the number of bus crew members.
"I think some people are in trouble because there are fewer flights. That means that there are people who need it even with just one bus. I feel that I support the lives of citizens and I am proud of it."
Mr. A told me about the work of the bus crew.
"Bus crews are said to be hard, but I think it's a good job. I think it's especially suitable for those who like driving or like communicating with people. At first, I was worried that I could drive such a big thing, but now I can drive it."
You may go shopping on holidays or return home once during breaks to do housework, and work-life balance is good. It is said that the moment when Mr. A is working and he likes is when he passes by the driving synchronization and when a small child shakes his hand.
"If you pass each other in the same period, you'll be doing your best, and I'm glad that a small child shakes his hand when waiting for a traffic light. You will be pleased when you look back on your hand."

When asked, "Do you have any memories of the bus when you were young?", A followed his memory and answered:
"Speaking of that, the bus company in my hometown, Hokkaido, was kind to children, and in the past, I made me sit in the driver's seat while the bus was waiting. I might have liked buses because of that kind of experience.……」
"I like big cars and driving, so I want to be a driver without any accidents and violations," says A. A may be a longing for somebody, just as the experience in Hokkaido is making it now.