Before deciding to apply for the position of "On-board Guide" with Busabout it is important to be aware of what the position entails. All of our current crew had to make similar decisions. One of our guides described her decision to leave her job as a travel agent and work for Busabout as; "I was selling the dream, now I'm living the dream".
Busabout is a European Transport network tailored to independent travellers. As an on-board guide, you facilitate the travel day for passengers. Typically you would start work at 7.30am, 30 minutes before departure. With the assistance of a small hand-held computer, you board passengers, checking the validity of their passes and passports, in time for an 8am departure.
During the day, your microphone work will include spiels about the cities and countries you are visiting, as well as forward planning for passengers. Most rewarding for a guide is to be able to inspire passengers with ideas of where to go, and what to see, and then watch as their excitement builds on entering a new country or city.
As a guide, you are invaluable to passengers, in terms of your local knowledge and experience. Simply understanding the public transport system in each city and then being able to explain it to passengers, saves them both time and money. Throughout the travel day, you would typically spend your time answering questions and completing paperwork. You are required to book accommodation and on arrival be available to clients until check-in is complete.
Staff accommodation depends on where you are. It is always in the same establishment as passengers, and you generally share with your driver or another guide. In Italy we mainly use campsites, in Spain hotels and hostels and in Northern Europe generally hostels. You may share bathroom facilities with passengers, but never a room.
Most accommodation does not have cooking facilities, so you will usually join your driver and other crew for dinner in a local restaurant. A food allowance is not provided and payment is your own responsibility. In a position as an on-board guide, you have the opportunity to both live and work in Europe. Your sequence (roster) is provided to you by management which generally involves working 19 to 25 days per month. Your position on the circuit dictates where you will have days off which varies from season to season. Your wage is proportional to how long you have been working for the company.
A job in Europe and life on the road comes with some sacrifices. You are constantly on the move, living out of a backpack, away from family and friends. The hours are long and responsibility high. However the family-like bond created between crew, the sights you see, experiences you'll have, places you will discover, photos you'll take, make this job what it is. As a guide, you make the dreams of your clients come true and help create lifetime memories. You are lucky enough to be guiding them throughout Europe, imparting your knowledge and experience, you make their travel-time one to remember.