Roadside Controller

Arriva London South Limited; Greater London; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Arriva London South Limited is seeking a Route Controller to join the operations team in London. You will monitor live bus services, respond to disruptions, and support drivers and depot teams to maintain safe, reliable, and on-time service.

You will need to stay calm under pressure, communicate clearly, and make quick decisions in a fast-paced environment. Transport ops experience and IT skills are helpful; shift work including evenings and weekends is required.

Qualifications

• Experience in an operational, control room, transport, or logistics environment.
• Good geographical knowledge and operational awareness.
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to make decisions under pressure.
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office.
• Flexible to shifts, including evenings and weekends.

Responsibilities

• Monitor live bus services using operational systems and radio.
• Manage service disruptions including delays, breakdowns, accidents, and driver shortages.
• Coordinate diversions, changeovers and relief vehicles as required.
• Keep drivers and depot teams updated on issues.
• Record incidents and delays accurately.
• Support service performance and reliability targets.
• Ensure services operate safely and in line with procedures.

Skills

Communication skills

Decision making under pressure

Problem solving

Geographical knowledge

IT skills

Shift flexibility

Operational experience

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Are you calm under pressure, highly organised, and passionate about keeping London moving? Arriva London is looking for a Route Controller to join the operations team, helping to keep services running safely, reliably, and on time across the network.

This is a busy operational role where no two days are the same. You’ll be responsible for monitoring live bus services, dealing with disruptions as they happen, and supporting drivers and depot teams to maintain service delivery for customers across London. The role would suit somebody who can stay calm under pressure, communicate clearly, and make quick decisions in a fast-paced environment.

What you’ll be doing

• Monitoring bus services in real time using operational systems and radio communication
• Managing service disruption including traffic delays, breakdowns, accidents, and driver shortages
• Coordinating diversions, changeovers, and relief vehicles where required
• Keeping drivers and depot teams updated on operational issues
• Recording incidents and delays accurately
• Supporting service performance and reliability targets
• Ensuring services operate in line with company procedures and safety standards

What we’re looking for

• Experience within an operational, control room, transport, or logistics environment
• Good geographical knowledge and operational awareness
• Strong communication and problem-solving skills
• The ability to make decisions under pressure
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office
• A flexible approach to shifts, including evenings and weekends

Previous bus industry or public transport experience would be beneficial but isn’t essential.

Why join Arriva?

At Arriva, you’ll be part of a team that keeps London moving every day. We offer a supportive working environment, development opportunities, and the chance to build a long-term career with Arriva is a leading provider of passenger transport across Europe, employing around 34,400 people and delivering around 1.6 billion passenger journeys. With buses, trains, coaches, trams, waterbuses, bike-sharing systems, on-demand transport solutions and a rolling stock leasing company, Arriva proudly connects people and communities safely, reliably and sustainably across 11 countries, delivering these services in a better way, every day.

The activities of Arriva are divided into four business units: UK Bus, UK Trains, The Netherlands and Mainland Europe.

Arriva has passenger transport operations in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom, and also operates a rolling stock leasing company in Romania.

Thanks for your interest in working on our team!! Our expansion is opening up exciting prospects! As our team grows, we’re on the lookout for the brightest talent to join us. Our ongoing success hinges on this!