Guides/Theory test
Bus CPC Case Study Questions and Answers: 20 Real Category D Examples
Updated 10 October 2026 · 8 min read
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Here are 20 real bus CPC case study questions with the correct answer and the reason behind it. They come from the six Irish bus (category D) case studies, 213 questions in total, that are free to practise on this site. None of them repeats the ten bus questions in our general CPC questions and answers guide, so between the two pages you get 30 category D examples.
The bus case study test (CPCB) is 3 cases, 15 questions each, 135 minutes, €72, pass mark 28 out of 45 with at least 5 in every case. The format is covered in detail in the CPC case study test guide. This page is about the bus content itself.
The six Irish bus case studies
| Driver | What happens | Main topics |
|---|---|---|
| John | City bus, skips the brake check, speeds on a dual carriageway, picks up a wheelchair user, stopped by a Garda | Daily checks, speed limits, wheelchair docking, documents |
| Alan | Full double-decker, front tyre blow-out at speed, tight left turn with a cyclist | Emergencies, rear overhang, bus lanes, hazard lights |
| Michael | School bus with standing children, then international coach work | Seat belts, first aid kit, weight limits, international documents, 12-day rule |
| Sean | Standee city bus, bad cornering, lifts a heavy suitcase, parks on double yellows, sees a bridge strike | Standing passengers, manual handling, parking, reporting incidents |
| Ciara | Intercity coach, unattended bag, extra passenger, luggage falling from lockers | Security, passenger rights, luggage, tachograph records |
| Ashling | Tour coach overheats its brakes downhill, luggage injures a passenger, tyre fire | Retarder and holding gears, fire procedure, evacuation, overhang, rest periods |
The real test draws 3 of these at random. You cannot pick the bus you know, so the preparation is to work through all six.
Bus CPC case study questions and answers
| # | Question | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which essential check did John forget before starting his shift? | The brakes. | John checked lights, tyres, wipers and the emergency engine stop. Brakes are the most safety-critical daily item and the one he skipped. |
| 2 | When John saw the person in the wheelchair waiting at the stop, what was the FIRST thing he should have done? | Checked that the docking area was clear. | A wheelchair user can only be carried if the docking area is free. John found other passengers standing in it. |
| 3 | John's bus has more than 8 passenger seats. At what speed must its speed limiter be set? | 100 km/h. | Buses and coaches with more than 8 passenger seats are limited to 100 km/h. Goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are set to 90 km/h. |
| 4 | When is a regular bus service exempt from the EU drivers' hours rules? | When the route does not exceed 50 km. | Regular passenger services on routes of 50 km or less are outside Regulation 561/2006 and need no tachograph. Tours and private hire are fully covered. |
| 5 | How often must a bus with more than 8 passenger seats pass the CVRT? | Every year from 1 year old. | Buses with more than 8 passenger seats, like goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, are tested at one year old and every year after. |
| 6 | Where should Alan have told the passengers to sit once the bus broke down on the hard shoulder? | To the front of the bus. | The greatest danger in a breakdown is being struck from behind. The front of the bus is furthest from a rear-end impact. |
| 7 | Besides buses, who may legally use a with-flow bus lane during its hours of operation? | Taxis and cyclists. | A with-flow bus lane is open to buses, taxis and cyclists. A contra-flow bus lane, running against the traffic, is for buses only. |
| 8 | What must Alan have with him whenever he drives the bus professionally? | His Driver CPC card. | A professional driver must carry the Driver CPC card and produce it to a Garda or RSA transport officer on request. Not carrying it is an offence. |
| 9 | The EU drivers' hours rules apply to passenger vehicles with how many seats? | More than 9 including the driver. | Regulation 561/2006 covers vehicles built to carry more than nine persons including the driver, unless the 50 km regular-service exemption applies. |
| 10 | If Michael's bus weighed more than the gross vehicle weight allowed on the bridge road, what should he have done? | Find another route. | A weight restriction is absolute. Proceeding with caution is not an option; the bus has to go another way. |
| 11 | Children were standing in the aisle of Michael's belted school bus. When may passengers stand on a bus? | Only on a bus licensed for standing. | Standing is allowed only on buses designed and licensed for it, up to the number on the LPSV licence. A belted coach has no standing capacity. |
| 12 | Michael's coach carries seated passengers only. What is its maximum speed on a national single-carriageway road? | 80 km/h. | Seated-only buses with more than 8 passenger seats: 100 km/h on motorways and dual carriageways, 80 km/h on other roads, or the posted limit if lower. |
| 13 | Michael's bus had no first aid kit. When does Irish law require an omnibus to carry one? | On a scheduled route of 15 miles or more. | An omnibus on a scheduled route of 15 miles (about 24 km) or more must carry a first aid kit. Standee buses can be exempted by permit. |
| 14 | Did Sean properly stow the suitcase belonging to the passenger with the wheelchair? | No, it should have been secured against sliding. | Sliding a suitcase loose under a seat leaves it free to slide into the aisle under braking or cornering. Luggage must be stowed where it cannot move. |
| 15 | Sean's bus is designed to carry standing passengers. What is its maximum speed on the motorway? | 65 km/h. | A bus built for standing passengers is limited to 65 km/h on every road, including motorways. Sean was doing 70. |
| 16 | Sean saw a lorry hit the railway bridge and decided to report it later. What should he have done? | Phoned it in at once so trains could be stopped. | A strike on a railway bridge can derail a train. It is reported immediately using the number on the bridge identification plate, not when the shift is over. |
| 17 | Ciara's regular passenger carried a white cane with a red band. What type of impairment does the white cane indicate? | Vision. | A white cane marks a visually impaired person. The red band means the person is also hearing impaired, which changes how the driver should help them board and find a seat. |
| 18 | Passengers made a formal complaint about falling luggage. Within what time must a carrier give a final reply under EU rules? | Within 3 months. | Under Regulation 181/2011 a passenger may complain within 3 months of the journey. The carrier replies within 1 month and gives a final answer within 3 months. |
| 19 | If Ciara is stopped by an RSA transport officer, for how many days must she be able to produce tachograph records? | The current day and 56 days. | Since 31 December 2024 drivers must produce records for the current day and the previous 56 days. Older revision notes still say 28. |
| 20 | If a passenger's wheelchair were damaged while being loaded onto Ciara's coach, what must the carrier pay? | The cost of replacement or repair. | EU passenger rights require compensation equal to the replacement or repair cost of lost or damaged mobility equipment, plus an effort to provide a temporary replacement. |
This sample leans towards rule questions because those have a fixed answer worth learning. In the real exam rule questions are the minority, around 5 of the 15 in a case. The other 10 come straight from the story: what the driver skipped, which way the passengers were thrown, where the luggage should have gone.
The figures every bus case study asks
| Topic | Figure |
|---|---|
| Seated-only bus or coach, motorway or dual carriageway | 100 km/h |
| Seated-only bus or coach, other roads | 80 km/h |
| Bus built for standing passengers | 65 km/h on every road |
| Speed limiter, bus with more than 8 passenger seats | 100 km/h |
| Passenger weight allowance | About 1 tonne per 15 passengers |
| Maximum vehicle height in Ireland | 4.65 metres |
| Driving before a 45-minute break | 4.5 hours |
| Daily driving | 9 hours, 10 hours twice a week |
| Weekly driving | 56 hours, 90 hours in two weeks |
| Daily rest | 11 hours regular, 9 hours reduced up to 3 times a week |
| Weekly rest | 45 hours regular, 24 hours reduced |
| Tachograph records to produce | Current day plus 56 days |
| Driver card download | At least every 28 days |
| Night time for passenger transport (working time rules) | 01:00 to 05:00 |
| Work without a break (working time rules) | No more than 6 hours |
| Regular service exempt from EU hours rules | Route of 50 km or less |
| First aid kit required | Scheduled route of 15 miles (24 km) or more |
| CVRT for buses with more than 8 passenger seats | Yearly from 1 year old |
| Minimum age for category D | 24, or 21 via the full Driver CPC route |
| Periodic CPC training | 35 hours every 5 years, one 7-hour module a year |
What makes bus cases different from truck cases
Truck cases are about the load: pallets, axle weights, ADR, operator licences. Bus cases are about people. Almost every bus scenario has a wheelchair user, a standing passenger, a child without a belt or a piece of luggage that moves when it should not. The questions then come from three angles: the rule (may passengers stand on this bus?), the physics (which way are they thrown in a left turn?) and the driver's judgement (should Sean have stopped on double yellow lines to let the angry passenger off?).
Two topics appear in bus cases and nowhere in truck cases: EU bus passenger rights (Regulation 181/2011: no refusal of a wheelchair user, free assistance on board, compensation for damaged mobility equipment, the 3-month complaint window) and the LPSV licence that fixes how many seated and standing passengers each bus may carry.
Is there a bus CPC case study questions and answers PDF?
No official one. The RSA does not publish the case study bank, and the free PDFs that come up in search are training-school handouts or scans of old revision sheets. Several of them still give 28 days for tachograph records and 36 hours for a reduced weekly rest, both out of date. All six bus case studies on this site are free online with the answers checked against the current rules, and the site works offline once you add it to your home screen.
Practise all six bus case studies free
John, Alan, Michael, Sean, Ciara and Ashling with every question explained, plus a timed bus exam simulation at /cpc/exam/bus with the real 28/45 and 5-per-case pass rules.
Open bus case studiesFrequently asked questions
+Where can I find bus CPC case study questions and answers for Ireland?
The 20 questions on this page are real category D examples with the answer and the reason. All six Irish bus case studies (213 questions) are free to practise on this site with an explanation for every answer, and there is a timed bus exam simulation that draws 3 random cases. The RSA does not publish the bank.
+Is there a bus CPC case study questions and answers PDF download?
There is no official RSA PDF. The files circulating online are training-provider notes and old revision sheets, and several contain figures that are no longer correct, such as 28 days of tachograph records instead of 56. Our online bus case studies cover the same ground with current answers and work offline as an installed app.
+How many bus case studies are there in the Irish CPC test?
The Irish bank has six bus (category D) case studies: John, Alan, Michael, Sean, Ciara and Ashling. Your test draws three of them at random with 15 questions each, 45 in total, in 135 minutes. You need 28 correct overall and at least 5 in every case.
+What is the speed limit for a bus in Ireland?
A bus or coach with more than 8 passenger seats carrying seated passengers only may do 100 km/h on motorways and dual carriageways and 80 km/h on other roads, or the posted limit if lower. A bus designed to carry standing passengers is limited to 65 km/h on every road. The speed limiter on a bus is set to 100 km/h.
+What is the pass mark for the bus CPC case study test?
28 out of 45 overall and at least 5 out of 15 in each of the three case studies. Both conditions must be met. The bus test (CPCB) costs €72 and is booked on theorytest.ie after you have passed the category D theory test.
+Do I need a tachograph on a city bus?
Not if the bus runs a regular passenger service on a route of 50 km or less. Those services are exempt from the EU drivers' hours rules. Longer routes, tours, school contracts and private hire are covered, and the driver must be able to produce records for the current day and the previous 56 days.
Sources
- RSA: What is Driver CPC (checked 10 October 2026)
- theorytest.ie: CPC Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (fees, booking) (checked 10 October 2026)