Two colleagues at Stagecoach’s Morecambe depot are highlighting the wide range of opportunities available to women in the bus industry, as part of International Women’s Day on March 8.

Hayley Jackson, 28, who was born and bred in Morecambe, has spent six years working as a cleaner at the company’s depot on the White Lund Industrial Estate.

During that time, she has combined her role with studying for a Masters in Teaching English as a Secondary Language and Applied Linguistics at Lancaster University. She is now preparing for an exciting new chapter, with plans to move to Japan next year to teach English overseas.

Reflecting on her time with Stagecoach, Hayley said: “With Stagecoach in particular, there are a lot of opportunities. Even if you start as a cleaner, there are routes into engineering and other areas, and there’s an extensive apprenticeship programme. There are lots of different paths you can take.

Stagecoach colleagues Rachel Smalley and Hayley Jackson at Morecambe depot.

placeholder image — Stagecoach colleagues Rachel Smalley and Hayley Jackson at Morecambe depot.

“I’ll be sad to leave because I’ve genuinely enjoyed working here. We’ve got a good team and it’s been a really positive experience. But I’m also excited about the next chapter teaching overseas.”

Hayley hopes her story encourages other young women to consider careers in the bus sector.

She added: “My advice to young women would be to explore it. The bus industry might seem male dominated from the outside but there are so many opportunities if you’re willing to go for them.”

Rachel Smalley, who has worked at the Morecambe depot for the past year, also takes great pride in her role preparing buses for service each day. Public transport runs in the family – her husband has worked for Stagecoach for 10 years and her father has spent 15 years with the company as a mechanic.

For Rachel, the job is about far more than keeping vehicles clean.

She said: “Day to day, it feels like being part of a team, everyone working together. I see the buses in a different light.

“I’m cleaning them knowing that an older person or a child will be getting on next. If I can help make it clean and shiny for whoever gets on, that really matters to me.”

Encouraging more women to consider roles in the sector, Rachel added: “Anything a man can do, a woman can do. You can be a cleaner, a driver, an engineer – whatever you want to be. We shouldn’t put people in boxes. The opportunity is there.”

Stagecoach Cumbria and Lancashire offers a wide range of roles including drivers, engineers, cleaners and supervisors, alongside structured training and apprenticeship pathways.

The wider Stagecoach Group is led by CEO Claire Miles with women occupying senior roles within the business across the United Kingdom.