Hey Keywan, I just finished my four weeks training. I had to pay for some of it out of my wage, but it's almost already paid up. Here's the breakdown of what I did: First 10 days at an outside training provider, but the trainers used to drive for the company I'll be driving for. Day 1 - Learning left and right turns plus smooth acceleration and braking. Written test as well. Day 2 - More of the above plus large roundabouts. No more written tests. Day 3 - Medium sized roundabouts, more highway driving and changing lanes in heavy traffic. Day 4 - Test to get bus licence. Day 5 to 10 - Tighter turns, tighter streets, small roundabouts, practicing popular runs on the network. Another 10 days with company trainers. Learning policies, procedures and how to truly be a bus driver - Keeping speed constant, pulling into bus stops, dealing with rude or drug affected passengers, dealing with timing points and pressures. The company I work for does do shorter programs for those who already have a bus licence or truck driving history. Any fellow Australians out there, you'll need to get: *Working With Children Check *Driver Accrediation (just like taxis and Uber drivers have) *Driver's Licence (minimum 12 months and you can still be probationary) I lost my licence back in 2013 but haven't had a fine since, and I was still allowed to drive buses, so yes. Just don't have DUIs, a criminal history or a large amount of fines and you'll be sweet. They are also looking for people with customer service backgrounds nowadays, as they no longer want a "driver", they want someone who gives the customers an "experience". They try not to call them "passengers" anymore too. Basically, they are trying to get rid of the nasty, unhelpful bus driver cliche. Yes, the company I'm with loves to fill internally too, so if you are looking to be a mentor for drivers, train them, have an avenue to use your degrees or prior skills, bus companies are excellent for that! I get to pick up passengers for the first time next week and I'll spend the first two weeks with a mentor (basically doing her routes for her but she'll guide me on the runs). Not 100% sure what happens after that, but I'll keep you posted!
Wow..thanks so much for sharing!!! Congratulations on making it through training!! So cool that you get specific training for passengers under the influence of drugs..that’s really important!!
@@BusDriverLife My pleasure! Thank you 😊 Yeah, the training is really good and they don't want anyone to turn around and say: "I didn't learn this" as an excuse for incompetence.
@@PurplePinkRed what company did you go through for your training if you don't mind me asking. I just got my cdl permit and I added the passenger endorsement, but they talked me out of it bc my actual intention for the cdl was for trucking, however I was only planning on doing trucking for the experience, then I wanted to transition over to city bus driver......but you see I didn't realize I would have to take a separate driving test and that's where I'm stuck.
During a normal 8 hour shift, how many breaks do they give you? When can you take them? And when you need to go to the bathroom what do you do? I just applied but I have all of those questions
I’ve been driving for sixteen years now. Best career I’ve had. I love the flexibilty. When my kids were small I worked nights to avoid daycare costs. Now I sign dayruns or whatever I want. Trading shifts is another bonus. Plus if I have crappy work I just put up with it until the next signup and sign something different. Way more pros than cons. Take care everybody
On a more serious note, get used to the thought of regularly seeing/getting in the middle of situations you have nothing to do with or control of but have to somehow diffuse. In my experience that can be tough, depending on the case and person. On the positive side, it can be rewarding. Like you say, in good weather it almost feels like you're outside. If you work in a big-ish city, the shifts and monthly schedules are pretty predictable (at least where I am), and once you get into the rhythm, you'll see the many upsides of that. What you shouldn't do is expect it to be 'just sitting, driving around without a care' as.apparently many people think it is 🤣
"Air Brake" isn't strictly an endorsement in the same way that Passenger is. It's actually the removal of a restriction code on your CDL that means you can't drive a vehicle with air brakes.
Hi, greetings from your another european colegue. I would ask you this. No. ONE: How long shifts do you have and how long brakes do you have between arrival and departure. And Final No. TWO: How many hours a month do you have (ex. 200 hrs a month). And What benefits do you have and Is there some copmany which gaves you a lot of benefits (vacation, health care, food and restrooms at terminus etc.). Oh and I forgot very last question. How long forward do you know your shifts? Thx, bro
You will now need to pass ELDT(Entry Level Driver Training) course before being able to take the road exam for the CDL. New law that went into effect in February
Interesting video keywan 😃 it's true a lot of people could really make a living off driving a city bus!! Please make another video about what you go through your day.
@@BusDriverLife i have one accident on my license ,i rear end another car... i have my license for 17 years and just this one accident 8 months ago...i had a clean license when I wrote the mta test but now i have one accident and my appointment is March 14...i have no criminal record never been arrested but I'm scared.... it's my dream job...what you think......I'm in new York city
lol if you from new jersey apply for njt i applied and they responded and i wasn't even done with my application yet 🤣🤣 they just saw my clean driver license not even a speeding ticket ever and they emailed 3 times plus a phone call all within 20 min of me filling out the application lol
Basically, you have two options: you can give them a courtesy ride and carry on with the service, or you can stop the service until they get off. The former is usually the best option, unless they're being abusive.
I went to CDL school while I was still working as a security guard and got my class B. Currently driving a shuttle bus for a series of hospital campuses. I really like the schedule. Stay safe out there fellow Bus Drivers. 🚐 😎👍🏽
Yes the opportunities are there. After being a bus driver for 6 months I got promoted to supervisor for ladot Dash, commuter express. With no supervisor experience or driving experience prior to working for ladot.
This week my girlfriend and I hope to get hired doing exactly this. It’s a living wage and it’s really the best I can hope for given my situation. I can’t speak for my better half.
I earned my CDL with a school district in Kentucky started off as a school bus driver in 2009 and remained as one until 2018. Then I started driving for a Transit company in Kentucky and it was one of the best moves I've ever made in my career.
I lost my restaurant job when the pandemic happen and I'm looking into very different line of work now and seriously looking into this, thanks for the insight😃
Totally agreed... every bus companies have different hiring process. Always keep your license clean. Once you passed the interview process, you're required to do medical tests to see you're mentally fits and psychological sounds.
My friend is a bus operator in NYC and he started at age 21 and he is 23. I'm glad that he let me ride on his bus route while I was visiting NYC for a week.
The being stuck in a office clip is exactly what I’m trying to get away from 😩😫 I worked in corporate for over 20 years I need a change. Just relocated to a new state and I applied for a bus operator position and will be taking the pre assessment next week. Thanks for your informative video 👋🏽👏🏽👌✊🏽🔥🔥
Anyone drive for MTS (or Transdev) in San Diego? Do you have to have your own car to get to work? They said shifts start around 3am, but if I also rely on public transportation, and there are no busses running when I would need to get to work if I am assigned a 3am shift, I wouldn't be able to get to work...? Or if my shift ends when public transportation stops how do you get home??
What are my chances of getting a job in the USA as a bus driver/operator? I have 10 years experience in my country (Poland- EU). I realy want to move to USA :)
I'm just getting into bus driving. I find out if I pass in the next week and a half, hopefully I can remember my circle check and brake checks. I feel good about my driving skills, but it isn't over until the decision is made. That Milwaukee pay scale @1:02 looks low. Here in the Toronto area training is minimum wage ($15), but after training its about $35/hr then after a year bumps up to just shy of $40/hr (including in lieu pay, etc.). Of course there is a difference between US and Canadian currency, but its not that big! Hopefully I pass the tests.
Before I went for my interview I went to the DMV and got my DMV print out and Class B learner permit. I have to make a correction I failed lol the general written test but passed the Air brakes and Passenger endorsement. So after the interview two days later went retested and passed. Failure was not an option.
Depends on where you’re trying to drive. You have to check their website or call them and see what age they begin hiring at..it could be 18 or it could be 21.
Great job brother, universal is the word. I work in Orange County, California OCTA, 16 years, you're nailing each and every one of these videos it's a joy to watch. My wife laughs because I watch your videos on my days off here at home, just kind of keeps me in touch with the going's on that we have... going on as Coach Opetators....😁
I found this very helpful dude. I love SamTrans and Muni here, but I'm more of a SamTrans man than a Muni man considering some certain events in SF. I have thought of trains being my wanted work but I am reconsidering doing bus driving to hopefully work with something easy and readily available than jumping head first into something that's hard and unfamiliar
Ok. I'm looking forward to becoming a bus diver in my city time for a change in job career for me. All of your videos have great information. My question will be how long is bus training ?
I’m going to apply for Charlotte area transit system they hiring for bus operators I’m excited I always wanted to drive a bus one of my goals I hope I get it I’m soo nervous
I want to drive buses as a career, preferably coach buses, but working with either type would be okay for me. I live in Cayman Islands where getting into the driving industry is difficult if you don't have experiemce and if you don't know the right person. The island is small and not many new people want to go into that field, there's nowhere that you can go to train for that and nobody has the time to teach you, they just expect you to have the experience from somewhere else coming in. I might try it in a different country, but that's the current situation right now.
So why do some people drive the big buses and then go over to paratransit smaller buses? Why wouldn’t they stay with the big bus company and make more money?
It would be nice if you could do a ride along with a paratransit bus driver and even one with a light rail and commuter rail like the UTA FrontRunner? I live in Salt Lake City Utah and I have ridden regular buses such as what you drive but I have ridden paratransit and the light rail and the commuter rail service here. I know that each of those is much different and there are some people who one day was a bus driver and the next day they are driving the TRAX light rail trains and or they are driving the FrontRunner commuter rail service. From what I understand there are other things you have to know about being a paratransit driver and this is why I am asking if you can make a video about these things. Great video, Thank You for sharing.
Not sure if a Swiss bus driver with 15 years of accidentless and ticketless experience could just transfer the driving license over to America though. I'd prully have to start over from scratch again, and being 40 years old now, it might not be as easy anymore doing a new license in a new country with bus models that are 90% different to the European bus models.
@@bodazephyr6629 You'd have to drive on the wrong side of the road with the steering wheel on the wrong side as well, that's what kept me from trying in the UK, to be honest. If you could adapt more easily, maybe Switzerland is something for you. The annual pay for a full time bus driver for Swiss Post (Postauto) at the place I used to work at is about 75000 Swiss Franks. Greetings from Switzerland. :)
@@MatthewBluefox thanks for reply 👍 I drove a motorcoach around Switzerland, very beautiful country. It was tricky to get used to sitting, and driving, on the other side, but I did not crash so I guess I did OK 😄 For city bus driving, I think the biggest challenge would be learning to speak Swiss-German fluently.
I joined Calgary transit last year at age of 27 It was tough at first in regards to everything, but i stick to it still! But honestly now i feel this is the best job of my life! Thank you God ❤
Hey Keywan, Watched a few videos of yours and finally by the end of this video, decided to subscribe. Love your content. You are humble, you don't give any B.S and you state the facts. I am from India hoping to move to Canada in a few months. I read that Greyhound terminated its operations in CA. Would you please shed some light into the opportunities for Immigrants as coach operators in Canada. I initially thought about getting a Class A CDL and going OTR, but realized that's not my cup of tea. Coach operator is something that's perfect for me. Are the requirements for the Job the same as it is Stateside? Would be great if you can tell us about how the pay is. Much respect. Stay safe.
Hey! Thanks so much for watching! I didn’t even realize Greyhound made that move. I was actually hired by them some years ago but I decided to pass on it. I’ll have to look into that situation and see what info I can get!
Hi! I, in one of your videos you said some days will be better than other and today I'm having such an awesome day I had to come to your videos and comment 😁 Yes my man! You're absolutely right. Some days are better than others. Today my bus broke down and I've been out of service for 2 hours!! Lol 😆 loved today
The king county metro (seattle area) general manager worked his way up through metro. Terry White, he's an amazing dude you should listen to his speech at the APTA convention in seattle this year. Anyway he grew up with transit, I don't think he ever drove but he did start out in customer support roles. This is one of the largest agencies in the country!
