PCV (Passenger Carrying Vehicle) was formerly known as PSV (Passenger Service Vehicle). The Bus PCV Category D licence allow drivers who pass the PCV Category D Bus licence to drive any automatic buses including single deckers, double decker buses and also bendi buses. Once you pass the PCV category D test, you will then obtain a category D entitlement on your driving licence, and will be able to drive any automatic bus. You will also recieve Category D1 (minibus licence), as PCV Category D superceedsthe Category D1 minibus licence.
If you would like to be able to drive manual buses (ie coaches), then you will need to sit and pass your PCV Coach test, which will be sat in a manual vehicle. However, if you currently have a Category C or Category C+E manual licence, then once you pass your bus PCV test, your licence will automatically be upgraded to a manual PCV licence Category D.
PCV Bus Licence Training Requirements
In order to attend any of our Bus PCV Category D Courses, you must be at least 17 years of age and have a full Category B licence (car licence). Once this is obtained, your first step is to attend and pass an PCV medical test. You should be available to arrange for your local GP to conduct this medical, and they will confirm what fee is applicable. When attending your PCV medical examination, you will need to take a form D4 along with you, which is a medical examination report form which your doctor will need to complete. The D4 Form can be downloaded here from the DVLA website, or can be obtained from your local post office. If you already have an existing LGV medical whcih is still valid, then you will not be required to take the PCV medical examination.
Once you have passed your PCV Medical Examination, you must then make an application to the DVLA for your Category D provisional licence. In order to make this application, you will need to complete a Form D2, which can be obtained from your local post office, or can be ordered online from the DVLA here.
At this stage of applying for your Category D provisional licence it is worth applying for Category C, and also Category C+E (LGV Licence), as currently there is no fee for applying for these provisional entitlements, and should you decide to progress onto any of these tests in the future, will save you from having to re-apply for the provisional entitlement., and avoid incurring any future possible fees.
The final step you must complete before attending our LGV training course's is to sit and pass your PCV Theory Test, which can be booked online at the DSA's website, or by calling the DSA booking line on 0300 200 1122. When booking your theory test you will need to book both PCV Multiple Choice and PCV Hazard Perception. It is also recommended that you book your PCV CPC at this stage, but it is not essential or required for you to pass this theory test before taking your practical training or LGV practical test. You can also practice LGV theory tests online at the DSA's website
PCV Bus Courses In East London
We offer a range of PCV Category D Bus training courses to accomadte drivers with different levels of experience. All of our Bus PCV courses are provided on a 1-2-1 basis, ensuring that you receive 100% of the instructors attention without the pressure of any other observers. It is this 1-2-1 PCV Bus training by our fully qualified DSA approved trainiers which leads to our superb first time pass rate. Our training days consist of 4 hours training each day, with all 4 hours being spent by you at the wheel, and not spent with unecessary "coffee breaks" or "lunch breaks" which many other schools use as a tactic to reduce your training time.
Many other schools will offer you an 8 hour training day, which may sound like good value on the face of it, but the 8 hour day is not on a 1-2-1 basis, and the driving time is shared with another pupil, meaning you spend half the time squeezed in a drivers cab waiting for your turn to drive and effectively wasting half your day. The other problem with the 8 hour days provided by other bus PCV training schools in East London is that many of theses training schools will introduce lunch breaks into this 8 hour day meaning that you are not receiving your full time driving/practicing that you are paying for. The combination of these problems is quite obvious as to why such schools do not have the same extensive pass rate as we pride ourselves on.
Our Bus PCV training courses start off at 20 hours, and are aimed at people with no previous experience driving PCV's. The 20 Hour PCV Course has been our most popular and successful PCV course. We also do a 16 hour PCV course for those people who have some experience driving large vans/minibus's, and also a 12 hour course for those who have previous experience drivoing large vehicles such as LGV's on a regular basis.
Your training will be split up into 4 hour sessions provided on a 1-2-1 basis, which will include your practical test on the final day of your course. 4 hours will be allocated on your test day which will include a 2 hour pre-test warm up, 1 and half hours for the test itself, and half an hour transit time back to the depo.
Please remeber when deciding which Bus PCV training course would suit you best, that if you try to select a shorter PCV cousre to try to save yourself money, you may not pass your PCV Bus test first time, and may end up spending more money on re-tests than if you selected the most appropriate course for your skill level in the first place. If you are unsure about which Bus Category D PCV course would suit you best, then please contact our office where we will be more than happy to listen to the experience you have and help you make an appropriate choice.
As well as offering the very best PCV training in London, we are probably the cheapest PCV training school in London as well, offering the very best instruction, matched with unrivalled pass rates at unbeatable prices.
Please check our unique online booking system to find out when our next available PCV Bus courses are running. We are extremely proud to be the only PCV training school in London with a live Online Booking System whcih allows you to check all future PCV course dates so that you can book yourself onto an PCV course at a time and date which is convenient for you. The ability we have to allow you to book your PCV course online is also another example of just how far ahead of the other PCV training schools we are, as no other PCV bus training school can offer it's clients this fantasic and convenient facility.
PCV Bus Test
The PCV Bus test will be taken in the same vehicle in which you do your training in. The bus test starts off with the examiner asking you some vehicle safety questions, and is immeadiatly followed by the reversing excercise. You then proceed to spend the next 50 minutes - 1 hour driving on the public road, going over through the test routes you would have practiced during your training. During this time on the road the PCV examiner will assess your ability to interact with other road users along.
Once you have successfully passed your PCV Bus Category D practical test, you will then obtain a Category D and Category D1 (automatic minibus licence) on your driving licence which will entitle you to drive any minibus or bus with automatic transmission, including single decker buses, double decker buses and bendi buses.
Once you have passed your bus test, you can then approach many companies for work as a bus driver.
PCV Category D (Automatic Bus) Price List
| Option | Price |
| 20 Hour Course (No Previous Experience) |
£999 |
| 16 Hour Course (Experienced with Large vans / minibuses) |
£825 |
| 12 Hour Course (Experienced with LGV's or PCV's) |
£650 |
All courses INCLUDE practical test fee's. (An additional £30 will be charged for any practical test booked on a weekend or out of hours)
