Bus Driver Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 83,000 jobs.
Median salary
£33,947
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 5.9% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£36,340
Part-time only
£15,638
Mean
£33,726
Jobs measured
83,000
What a typical bus driver takes home
On the median of £33,947, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,330
Take-home a year
£27,961
Income Tax
£4,275
National Insurance
£1,710
What most bus drivers actually earn
Half of bus drivers earn between £27,639 and £42,200. Earning above £42,200 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of bus drivers earn less than this.
Bus Driver salary by region
10 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £44,375 | £43,392 |
| South East | £34,023 | £32,037 |
| East | £32,346 | £33,099 |
| North West | £32,308 | £30,298 |
| South West | £31,329 | £29,169 |
| North East | £31,248 | £29,449 |
| Scotland | £30,880 | £30,810 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £30,256 | £29,035 |
| West Midlands | £28,715 | £27,628 |
| East Midlands | £28,200 | £28,074 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Bus and coach drivers
- SOC 2020 code
- 8212
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.
Bus Driver salary FAQs
What is the average Bus Driver salary in the UK?
The median is £33,947 a year and the mean is £33,726, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £36,340 and part-time employees £15,638.
How much does a bus driver earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £16.21 excluding overtime, or £16.43 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Bus Driver salary?
Half of bus drivers earn between £27,639 and £42,200. Anything above £42,200 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a bus driver?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of bus drivers earn under £14,546 and the lowest quarter under £27,639 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid bus drivers earn?
The top 10% of bus drivers earn more than £49,429 a year, and the top quarter more than £42,200. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays bus drivers the most?
London, at a median of £44,375, is the highest of the 8 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; Yorkshire and The Humber is the lowest at £30,256. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has bus driver pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +5.9% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many bus drivers are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 83,000 employee jobs in “Bus and coach drivers” (SOC 8212) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
Is this figure official?
Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records.
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