Civvy Life – Driving on down civvy street

Off By Ed Hanna

Willie Hamilton has climbed the ranks; this time from bus driver to operations director at Lothian Buses.

What’s your Military background?
I joined the Royal Scots as it was, in May 2004, from school at 17 years old. It became 1 Scots. It was Op Telic 7, and I was stationed in Baghdad at the time when we did the cap badge handover. I also did Op Telic 11, Germany and Belize before leaving the Army at the end of 2009.

How was resettlement?
You get to a point, I suppose at that four year mark, when you’ve got the option to leave and your head gets turned. You start thinking, is it a career, or is it not for me? I made the decision that it wasn’t for me to carry on with that lifestyle.

I was what you might say, ‘lost’ to be quite honest. I didn’t have a great plan. I just knew that the Army wasn’t for me anymore.

When I left, I took the European Computer Driving Licence course I was offered at the time over in Rosyth. I used my ELCAS units to complete it and that was pretty much it.

How did you come to work for Lothian Buses?
When I left the Army, I then went through a couple of months applying for every job under the sun! I started working at the airport, doing baggage handling, but I’m six foot four, so I can assure you that for anybody over six foot, considering baggage handling, it’s not the option to take! I eventually found myself working with the company that had the contract within Edinburgh for all the bus stops and advertisement boards.

I was changing the advertisements and washing the bus stop at the driver changeover at Cannonmills. There I was out in the rain, soaking wet, cleaning the bus stop. The drivers were inside and having a wee bit of banter and one of them said: ‘Why are you in the rain? Why don’t you come and try the buses?’ I’d never considered it, but two weeks later he was there again with an application form for me, and I started in the training school a few weeks later.

Sounds like proper community spirit…
That sentiment is how I think about this company; you’re spot on. It is something that staff do openly; they actively try to get their friends and family involved. We’re a big business in a major city but we’ve not got that feeling of a big business.

That’s probably the bit for me, that I was missing from the Army, that sense of belonging.

What does your role as operations director involve?
Well, I never had all these grey hairs up until the last year! We are the largest municipal bus operator in the UK with over 2,200 colleagues. We operate Lothian Buses, our main city network, Lothian Country buses, East Coast Buses, Edinburgh Bus Tours, our five star Visit Scotland, open top tour business and a private hire coach operation, Lothian Motorcoaches. All the operational aspects of this fall within my remit, overseeing a team of managers and supervisors responsible for nearly 1,800 drivers.

What do Veterans bring to roles at Lothian Buses? What are your expectations from them?
Expectations are high, because we’ve got a lot of ex-Military personnel from across the Armed Forces. It’s a two-way thing; it provides them with stability and opportunities. Certainly, from my own experience, that’s what I needed. When you’re in the Military, you become regimented and you like structure, and you like to know what you’re doing. That’s what we can offer. Buses are scheduled, you’ll get given the time that you have to be at your bus, you take over that bus, you get a timetable to run to and that’s your office essentially for the day and that’s your responsibility. As a bus driver, you’re trusted with the safety and comfort of up to 129 passengers in our largest vehicles. So, it’s a huge responsibility.

We’ve found that one of the key things is an ability to remain calm under pressure. You’re out on the road as a lone worker in different circumstances; whether it be road traffic accidents, or assisting the public, you have to remain calm and follow your training to make decisions based on the safety and comfort of your passengers.

Did you always view working for Lothian Buses as a ladder of promotions and opportunities, starting as a driver?
Yes. After a couple of years, I could see the progression. I could see some of the drivers that were in the canteen with me when I started had begun progressing to supervisor roles. You start interacting with them in a different way. Then you get that hunger to succeed.

What do you miss from the Forces? And what do you most appreciate in your current role?
I suppose the bit I miss from the Forces is the banter. From a Scottish regiment perspective, I loved it, there’s a really good sense of humour which you have to have to get you through. And that’s something else I would also relate to Lothian.

In my current role, I appreciate the opportunity to build on the history of Lothian. For over

100 years Lothian has been built on its history, the expertise and knowledge of its people, and the clear passion to deliver for its customers. Every day I feel incredibly privileged to be able to play a part in the direction of the business and influence decisions that will create opportunities for the next generation of Lothian colleagues.

What’s your takeaway for current Service-leavers?
It’s going to be tough. I think that’s the reality. But you have to battle through that. The Military is a period that will shape you and will change you and will set you in good stead for the rest of your life. During that transition, you can’t beat yourself up too much when something doesn’t work. Do as you’re trained, use the skills that you learned in the Army, and drive on!