He'd never driven a bus, now Kiwi is behind the wheel of a London double-decker

Simon McCarthny never expected he'd be driving a bus in one of the busiest cities in the world.

He moved to London permanently in 2024 to be closer to his grandkids and applied for an "awful lot" of jobs in his field of service delivery and other areas. He had a few interviews but they didn't lead to a role.

"I hadn't worked for about a year, I found it very difficult. I'm not at the beginning of my career, I'm at the other end of it to be honest so I guess that does play into [employers'] decision making."

The 65-year-old heard about bus driving and applied to Transport UK London Bus, completing an aptitude test and driver training. He began driving passengers in the famous red, double-decker buses in April.

He currently drives the 133 route from Streatham in South London to Holborn in central London and the famous landmarks he sees have become his highlight.

"You get to London Bridge, you drive over London Bridge and you know you've got a great view over the city. I love it, and then you look to your right and there's Tower Bridge.

"You look to your left and there's St Paul's [Cathedral] - amazing building and you get to do that every day."

Diversions lead to more views, with McCarthny driving past Battersea Power Station, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Whitehall.

"Secretly it's better when there's no customers in there so you can enjoy it a bit more," he said.

Seeing the River Thames on his daily route makes him feel connected.

"I think being a Kiwi, we like being close to water, and I really missed it about home."

Transport UK London Bus head of operations Angie Ryder said McCarthny's the only New Zealander at the Battersea depot and she thinks it's "great" he turned to bus driving.

"We're very, very proud of the fact that in London, our bus drivers represent the communities that they serve.

"If you look around any bus garage, you'll find a whole range of people from most corners of the world," she said.

Ryder said it's a good job for someone who's relocated from another country if they've got a driver licence, as they can then be trained to drive the bus by the company. While the company has a waiting list, Ryder said she'd love more Kiwis to join.

"Many people tell us that, 'Oh I'll stay for six months and try and find something in my own line of work' but then they enjoy the job, they find a community in the bus garage and often they end up staying and developing a second career with us."

Ryder said compared to office jobs, people like how they can park the bus back in the garage each day and not have work to take home with them.

The role has surprised and tested McCarthny at times and he said the shift work is "not so great".

"It's got good parts and bad parts but I think the good parts outweigh the bad parts. It's definitely tested my resilience, there's no doubt about that at all."

The responsibility lies on drivers for the bus to be in full working order each time the vehicle leaves the depot, so a thorough check is performed at the start of each shift. Navigating London's busy streets with different road users requires constant awareness and defensive driving.

"Other road users, I don't think they kind of get the fact that, without anybody in it you're over 11 tonne, chuck another 90 odd people in there, that's another six tonne, so it's a lot of metal and bodies to stop and you can't do it as quick as a car.

"I used to say to people who worked for me, 'We're not flying planes or delivering babies' but I'll add to that driving buses as well because it genuinely is a heck of a responsibility and you need to be really aware of what's going on."

He's found the similarities to his previous service delivery role interesting, with conflicting objectives at times in both roles. The bus schedule may require slowing down or stopping at a location to be regulated but when there's a bus full of people, particularly on "bloody hot" summer days, McCarthny also has to prioritise their needs.

"A bit of an eye opener you might say. I was surprised how similar it was to my former life from that perspective."

Passengers have been a source of frustration, but also fulfilment.

"Pet hate - people that just walk on the bus without paying, they don't even look at you, it's like a right."

Guidance he received in his first job after high school at a bank has remained valuable throughout his life.

He was told by the manager, "You need to understand why people come in here, especially the older people, it's like a social occasion, it's an outing, it's their chance to interact with people."

He said he tries to look everyone in the eye and greet them, with a hi, g'day or kia ora.

"Especially the older ones, most vulnerable ones, people with disabilities... you make a bit of a fuss and they look at you, they look up and give you a smile and they might not have had a smile on their face and then they do and I like to think they'll remember that interaction."

McCarthny can't believe how many strange sights he's already seen involving the busy city's characters.

Shortly after he started, a bus driver died after an assault near McCarthny's depot. Police alleged he was attacked after a confrontation on the pavement near the bus, which was parked at the time.

McCarthny said that saw him contacted by people back in New Zealand. His daughters have some concerns about him driving a bus in London.

"Most drivers are faced with idiots every now and then... we're really well protected - Transport UK has their own comms thing and then TFL [Transport for London] they have connection to all the bus networks with GPS tracking so they know exactly where you are."

His wife, who also found work in London, supports him in his new role and the family has been for a ride while he's working. His granddaughter is a big fan.

"She thinks it's amazing, 'Poppy's a bus driver' but we do do wheels on the bus, that's cool," he laughs.

After his early struggles to find work, he had some advice for those in a similar situation.

"I was looking for the job that I wanted way too long, 12 months, it's not good for your mental health, financial health, it's not good."

McCarthny said people should consider roles in different fields if they don't have success on their job hunt.

"Keep yourself active then figure it out. Driving buses, I would have never thought that in a million years, well I had thought about driving buses, but not a London bus, and who knows where this will lead."