What bus and coach drivers are paid in France
A French coach driver’s pay starts from a sector-wide scale, then rises with the job’s coefficient and years of service.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Minimum pay for an employed coach driver in France is set by the road transport collective agreement. Amendment no. 120 of 27 November 2025, extended to the whole sector by an order of 7 April 2026, has applied since 1 January 2026. The guaranteed hourly rate runs from €12.43 gross for coefficients 110 V to 128 V up to €14.51 at coefficient 155 V, the senior long-distance touring driver. For 151.67 hours a month, a driver at coefficient 140 V, the level of school-period drivers since September 2022, earns at least €2004.41 gross at hiring. The scale adds a seniority increase of 2% after one year and 6% after five, up to 20% after thirty, plus an allowance of €48.85 for each Sunday or bank holiday worked, however many hours. Every rate is above the €12.31 hourly Smic (minimum wage). City bus networks follow a different collective agreement.
Minimum monthly gross for a coach driver
Minimum monthly gross
€2,102
| Guaranteed pay 140V, 151.67 h | €2,004 |
| Seniority increase | +0 % |
| Sunday and bank holiday allowances | €97.70 |
Excludes overtime, spread-over allowances, travel expenses and company bonuses.
The 2026 scale, coefficient by coefficient
Amendment no. 120 of 27 November 2025 raises the minimum pay of manual staff under the road transport collective agreement, including passenger transport drivers, from 1 January 2026. It was extended by an order of 7 April 2026, so it binds every firm in the sector, whether or not it belongs to an employers’ organisation. In France, a coefficient is the grade attached to your job in the agreement; it sets your minimum rate.
| Coefficient | Hourly rate | At hiring (151.67 h) | After 5 years | After 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 110V-128V | €12.4270 | €1,884.80 | €1,997.89 | €2,035.59 |
| 131V | €12.6159 | €1,913.45 | €2,028.26 | €2,066.53 |
| 136V | €12.7241 | €1,929.86 | €2,045.66 | €2,084.25 |
| 137V | €12.7647 | €1,936.02 | €2,052.18 | €2,090.90 |
| 138V | €13.1197 | €1,989.86 | €2,109.26 | €2,149.05 |
| 140V | €13.2156 | €2,004.41 | €2,124.67 | €2,164.76 |
| 142V | €13.3478 | €2,024.46 | €2,145.93 | €2,186.42 |
| 145V | €13.4890 | €2,045.88 | €2,168.63 | €2,209.55 |
| 150V | €13.8167 | €2,095.58 | €2,221.31 | €2,263.23 |
| 155V | €14.5091 | €2,200.60 | €2,332.63 | €2,376.64 |
Coefficients 110 V to 128 V share one rate, €12.4270. Every rate on the scale is above the 2026 hourly Smic, €12.31 according to service-public, so unlike the ambulance scale, these agreed amounts are what actually apply.
Which coefficient for which job
The job classification in the agreement of 16 June 1961 describes passenger driving staff. It sorts driving jobs into several levels, from the coach driver who drives and helps load luggage up to the senior touring driver. The coefficients we read in the text are:
- driver assigned to commercial intercity coach services for at least half of their working time: 142 V;
- tourism driver, with at least two years’ experience: 145 V;
- long-distance touring driver, usually on multi-day tours: 150 V;
- senior touring driver, with at least eight years of driving including four at 150 V: 155 V.
For school-period drivers, amendment no. 115 of 23 March 2022 replaced coefficient 137 V with 140 V from 1 September 2022, except on services dedicated to disabled or reduced-mobility passengers. Coach drivers and driver-conductors, who also collect fares, are listed in the classification; your exact coefficient must appear on your contract, and we do not guess it.
The scale also provides a 3 % increase for staff with a mechanic’s or cashier’s qualification.
Seniority: up to twenty per cent
| Years with the employer | Increase | At coefficient 140V |
|---|---|---|
| at hiring | +0 % | €2,004.41 |
| after 1 year | +2 % | €2,044.50 |
| after 5 years | +6 % | €2,124.67 |
| after 10 years | +8 % | €2,164.76 |
| after 15 years | +10 % | €2,204.85 |
| after 20 years | +14 % | €2,285.03 |
| after 25 years | +17 % | €2,345.16 |
| after 30 years | +20 % | €2,405.29 |
The increase applies to the guaranteed monthly salary, not to the allowances. Seniority counts within the company: a driver who changes employer may start again in the hiring column unless the new contract says otherwise.
Sundays, bank holidays and extras
The amendment sets two flat allowances: €48.85 for a Sunday worked and €48.85 for a bank holiday worked other than 1 May, whatever the number of hours. A school-run driver rarely works Sundays; a tourism driver does so far more often, and it shows on the payslip.
Actual pay often goes beyond the minimum through items the scale does not cover: overtime and its premiums, long working days, travel and meal expenses, company bonuses. The calculator at the top of the page sticks to the agreed minimum: coefficient, seniority and Sundays.
From gross to net
Scale amounts are gross. Net pay depends on employee contributions, the company health plan and income tax withheld at source. We do not work out the net figure here; your payslip is the reference. Check three lines above all: the coefficient, the basic hourly rate and the Sunday allowances.
Employed on the road or self-employed
A coach driver is an employee, with a pay scale, paid holidays and full social cover. A taxi or VTC driver is usually self-employed, and income depends on fares, costs and business structure. The two do not compare line by line, but the taxi driver pay and VTC driver earnings pages give self-employed figures worked out by the calculator. In patient transport, the ambulance pay page shows a scale that has fallen below the Smic. To get into coach driving, see becoming a bus driver.