Gazman

I'm hearing a lot about long-haul drivers getting paid per mile and getting nothing if they are waiting to be loaded or unloaded
I really don't fancy the idea of sitting around waiting to be loaded -on behalf of a company- and getting nothing for it.
Is this the norm in Canada or do some companies per per hour wages???

alandoug

City get $18 hour. Think about that before you ask for hourly pay. ?

Say 3000 miles a week at $0.40 mile is $1200 say 4 picks/drops @ $25 each. Gross wages $1300. 1300 / 18 is just over 72.... Chasing your tail off round town would be no fun. So you need to BOOK 12 hours a day, 6 days a week to make the same as you do on highway.

kb33

City drivers get way more than $18 an hour around these parts ,
$21 and upwards , Just look on here ..

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/f-jobs-driv...-W0QQCatIdZ148

alandoug

Dunno if you don't need PR for those jobs?

neilg14

My mate came here on a city driving contract in Calgary but before he got his PR paperwork in, they had changed the rules in Alberta so he then had to change his next WP to long haul for PR.
This was about 2 years ago.

mickfly

I was offered $26 an hour city work in 2009, maybe that's one of the reasons there's a shortage of Canadians willing to do long haul.

kb33

^^What he said ^^

Gazman

Putting any bonus for pick ups/drops aside...is it actually possible to do 3000 miles a week every week???, when you take into account the following;

delays for possible traffic accidents,
bad weather (I've heard Canada has snow sometimes),
Max speed limit for trucks (I don't know but I'm guessing 60mph in Canada),
breakdown/roadside assistance required,
getting called to a check point/weigh bridge,

please add anything else to this list I've missed...and tell me is it really possible to keep the pedal to the metal in Canada???...

jamesmc

believe me ....i do/when the quarries are back open again in spring around 3k miles a week on local quarry/depot work & home every night monday-frid.

in the west winnipeg - calgary 13hr-14hr drive approx 830mls depending on whether your truck is set to 105kph or more some folk do it in a shift some dont .
hwy 1 is 110kph from manitoba ish border line west to ab. well no through Regina etc.
IMO you can run hard on the prairies ,over the hump into BC not quite so hard but good miles done in a shift.as not done much west of MB.i would take others opinion.and will guarantee you will be over more scales in a month than in 5yrs in uk
jimmy

flat to the mat

As Jimmy says most highway jobs will be looking at getting 12000 miles a month out of you , remember you can drive for 13 hours a day here , on good days you can travel a long way in that time .
When I first arrived and was on long haul van work I never chased the miles , the job was a means to an end ie PR , but if the planner did a good job I could breeze that mileage and get bonus miles on top , not all the time but it did happen without much sacrifice on my part .
Remember , apart from the major cities there is no traffic out here , well not in the West , so you can nail it all day with ease and then some , but obviously not on cc this time of year . Best of

jamesmc

lol... west of MB. damn coors light ....i meant east of MB>

perkinsgap

i would far sooner do long haul work then city work its not that bad once you found good company Driving in Canada not so much a job but a way of life if you don't love driving forget it

alandoug

That is for absolute sure, if you want a family life, stay away.

perkinsgap

i still have good family time i am out 12 to 14 days have 4 days at home my wife and 2 kids love it here 8 yrs and still counting its not all bad once you accept for what it is

Gazman

12 -14 days then 4 days off would suit me perfect ., I don't have a family coming with me but I do want to have a break once a fortnight. I don't care if my 4 days off would be exploring a different city every time in the short term...but in the long term I want to settle somewhere that is near the coast, hence my interest in NB & NS.

Here's another question (an odd one I know), does the PNP process require that you show a commitment to settle within the same province as the offer of employment within the application process???
I know the answer is probably yes...but I was pondering the idea of settling long term in NS, (somewhere along the coast off Tyndal Road for example), but didn't want to rule out possible employment opportunities in NB, around Moncton for example......