A TRANSPORT company is launching a new campaign to encourage more women to work there.

Brighton and Hove Buses has kickstarted its Women Behind The Wheel campaign to encourage more women to become bus drivers.

The company will be pushing its campaign at the Brighton recruitment day at Churchill Square on May 11.

This event will give women the chance to get into the driver’s cab and have a feel for what it is like to drive a bus.

A similar event will be happening in Crawley on April 27.

Assistant operations manager Kirstie Bull, who began driving buses in Brighton and Hove in 1998, said: “Some women have the idea that it’s a big vehicle and they can’t drive it.

“I don’t know where that comes from because they can drive it.

“Our focus is bringing more women into the industry.

“We’re up and coming for women. We’re doing more to attract them and to keep them.”

Kirstie has worked all around the business as a driver, mentor, supervisor and scheduler as well as in customer services and finance.

Fantastic

She also shadowed assistant operations managers at Go-Ahead London before becoming one in Brighton.

She said: “It’s a fantastic experience, I love it.

“The vantage point that you’ve got over other road users is great.

“Once you’ve cracked the size and the length, you’re in control.

“You can see everything that’s going on from behind the wheel.”

Kylie Griffiths is coming to the end of her three-year engineering apprenticeship at the company’s Conway Street depot in Hove.

She’s also just been nominated for the Everywoman in Transport and Logistics’ UK Apprentice of the Year Award.

She said: “It’s a very good company.

“I fit in fine with everybody, even though I’m quite quiet.

“I always have someone at work to support me and they’re always very keen to help me progress.

“The company has supported me from the word go.

“It’s a really good group of people.”

Brighton and Hove Buses’ managing director Martin Harris said: “We have set a target for women to make up at least 20 per cent of our colleagues by 2021 and we’ll keep going once we hit it.

“We’ve already had success attracting more women as drivers, apprentices and managers.

“We’ve also brought in family friendly policies, like flexible working, shared parental leave and time off for family emergencies.”