Tootbus case study: faster, lower-cost PCV driver hiring in London & Bristol

The challenge

Tootbus is a global sightseeing tour operator with seasonal demand peaks in spring and summer and reduced requirements through the winter. In London and Bristol, having the right number of drivers in place is critical: when staffing falls short, services can’t run, customer experience suffers, and costs rise quickly—often through emergency agency cover.

Before working with McRoberts, Tootbus faced a familiar set of challenges: not enough drivers, poor candidate quality, and weak retention. That created a costly cycle—vacancies driving agency reliance, churn creating repeated hiring pressure, and internal teams spending too much time on recruitment without predictable outcomes.

Tootbus didn’t just need “more applicants.” They needed a reliable pipeline of high-quality PCV drivers who would show up, perform well, and stay—especially through peak season.

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What success looked like

Success for Tootbus meant:

• Higher volumes of quality hires, fast enough to meet seasonal demand
• Lower recruitment and agency costs
• Improved staff retention and workforce stability
• Confidence in a recruitment strategy that could scale up and down with the season

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Our approach

McRoberts built a role-specific recruitment engine designed for a seasonal operator, with a focus on quality-of-hire and conversion to start.

A key part of the strategy was positioning: drawing experienced PCV drivers toward sightseeing tour driving as an attractive alternative to standard service routes. For the right candidate, tour driving can feel like a different job—more customer interaction, a different passenger demographic, and a distinct day-to-day experience. We built messaging that highlighted these differentiators while setting expectations clearly to improve fit and reduce churn.

From there, we focused on performance marketing and structured screening—so the pipeline was both high volume and high quality.

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What we delivered

To deliver faster and better hiring outcomes across London and Bristol, McRoberts implemented an end-to-end system:

1) Role-specific EVP built from real driver insight

 We started by interviewing drivers to uncover what genuinely matters in the role and what persuades drivers to choose (and stay with) a sightseeing operator. This became the foundation of a clear, role-specific employer value proposition.

2) Multi-channel campaigns managed by specialists

 We created and managed recruitment advertising across:

• Social media
• Search engines
• Job boards
•  Each channel was run by specialists with deep experience, ensuring targeting, creative and optimisation were suited to the platform—driving both reach and applicant quality.

3) Landing pages built to convert (with testing)

 Candidates were sent to high-converting landing pages designed to turn clicks into started applications. Pages included clear proposition messaging and were continuously tested and refined to improve conversion rates and reduce drop-off—especially during peak season.

4) Structured screening to protect quality

 Applicants were filtered using a combination of hard and soft screening questions, expectation-setting, and practical fit checks. Commute-time screening helped ensure candidates could realistically travel to work—reducing lateness, no-shows and early leavers driven by travel fatigue.

5) Automated re-engagement for drop-offs

 Candidates who didn’t complete the process were re-engaged through automated email sequences containing rich content—helping recover strong candidates and improving conversion without increasing admin workload.

6) ATS delivery via API/webhooks (no disruption)

 Candidates who passed screening were delivered directly into Tootbus’ ATS (Digital Recruiters) using webhooks and APIs. This kept the hiring team in their existing workflow while benefitting from better candidate quality and faster throughput.

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Results

The programme delivered what Tootbus needed most: faster hiring at lower cost, driven by a higher-quality candidate pipeline.

As a result, Tootbus:

• Hired PCV drivers faster and cheaper than ever before across London and Bristol
• Reduced wasted time for internal teams through better filtering and automation
• Lowered the cost impact of staffing gaps, including reduced reliance on agency drivers
• Improved confidence in their recruitment strategy for a highly seasonal operation

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Why it worked

This partnership succeeded because it combined:

• Role-specific messaging that repositioned sightseeing driving as an attractive alternative
• Multi-channel reach with specialist execution
• High-quality screening, including commute-based filtering and expectation management
• Automation that reduced drop-off and admin
• Seamless ATS delivery so the hiring team could move quickly

In short: better message + better targeting + better screening = better hires, faster.

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What this enabled next

With a predictable recruitment engine in place, Tootbus could plan seasonal ramp-ups with more confidence, protect service delivery, and reduce the cost and disruption caused by vacancies—without depending on emergency agency cover to keep routes running.