161 New York

Justdre88, if it is convenient to you, I suggest going to the DMV in Midtown at 31st Street between 8th and 9th. They are very efficient. I came in three different days and each time, I was in and out in 15-20 minutes. 

Definitely read from the NYS CDL booklet, Sections 2, 3 (General Knowledge), Section 4 (Passenger Endorsement), Section 5 (Air Brakes), everything there can be used on the examinations.

Most people take all three examinations all on the same day; however, I took the exams in the following order: Air Brakes (Day 1/ $10), then General Knowledge CDL (Day 2/$10) and Passenger Endorsement (Day 3 $5). I may have paid $10-$15 more, but I did not want to stress. On Day 3, when I completed everything, I filled out the paperwork and paid $12.50 for the permit. If you are planning to drive for MTA (meaning you won't use a CDL for employment prior to being called), on the form MV-44, which they will give you once you pass everything, you can select 'Excepted Interstate' with an A3 restriction (per several B/O's here, this is acceptable).

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Also, if you think you should have received a letter for the BOSS, but did not:

If you do not receive an admission letter by May 5, 2015, you must come to the MTA Exam Information Center located in the Lobby of 180 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 between the hours of 9 AM – 3 PM, Mondays through Fridays.

 

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 MHGQ04, Did you receive a letter to take the BOSS on August 9? 

Nobody from 4600 has received a score. By receiving an invitation to take BOSS, you can safely say you received a passing score on the written exam. Then we all await the list and score notifications.

Quick question, what happens if you are not originally from NYC, get hired by MTA but dont know the streets of NYC too well? I know your given a route to drive and that route sometimes changes...im sure youd need decent knowledge of the streets before hand? Have there ever been csses of MTA bus operators getting lost out there? That would be a disaster id assume....

I'm kinda concerned about this too. I am from Staten Island and if I am not able to pick right away into any of the Staten Island or Manhattan depots or Ulmer Park (Brooklyn South), it will definitely be a learning experience!

Thanks hockeyplayer9 for the information.

I got a letter I need to take the boss for August 9

Is your BOSS letter for May 09 instead? Please do let us know if it is indeed August. I guess since you are "in", you don't have to worry about it either way.

I need to know how the BOSS exam. and what do I need to read just to pass the exam

Please see below, YoungNYCSubwayFan has provided an excellent example on what to expect:

[Thread: the Oct. 4 exam for test 4600 what is that about?]

Should you have additional questions, please ask them in this thread. - Thanks

...

Another thing I've been seeing on the express buses is people pulling this BS that they don't have a Metrocard.  I've seen this on the BxM4 with a elderly lady who claimed she needed $3.00 in change.  No one had it so the driver let her on.  Before that this chick gets on a BxM2 I was on heading to Riverdale.  I was coming from work so I was dressed professionally (dress shirt, tie, pants, oxfords, etc.).  She clearly assumed that I would let her use my Metrocard, so she gets on at 63rd and Broadway with a story (I couldn't hear since I usually sit all the way in the back), and the driver gives her a lecture (I imagine something along the lines of don't try this again or I will kick you off - that's the impression I got, as Yonkers drivers usually don't tolerate that), and then she proceeds to come and sit near me, and then randomly whirls around as we approach 72nd and Amsterdam and asks blatantly if I had a Metrocard. I looked at her like she was crazy and another guy turned around and did the same thing and everyone refused to give her anything... Really frowned upon on the Riverdale express buses to go asking people for a free dip.  It's one thing if you don't have access to a subway station which happens a lot in Riverdale and so people will dip in exchange for the money (I have do it as well), but she's right next to the Lincoln Center station on the line so there was no excuse. I was tempted to tell her to GTFO and take the damn subway.  She got off in Kingsbridge. Looked very strange too... In any event, there's been A LOT of farebeating going on, both discretely in some cases and blatantly in others since the fare went up, and the needs to address the problem sooner rather than later.

Really? I have only seen it once where someone got on the express bus and did not pay. It was back in 2011 and I was on the 21:00 x1 bus to Manhattan and I can't remember if he/she said anything, but the B/O put on the interior lights and looked in his center mirror and I knew that he was looking for the person who did not pay.

Otherwise, the x17, x19, x22 and x23/x24, I have never seen any outright fare evasion. Due to my bad luck with MetroCards, I dipped a card, much to the dismay of an x17 driver ten times until it finally read because I did not want to outright not pay.

Atlantic Express and now-Academy strictly enforced fare collection.  In fact I had an incident on the x23 the first day of transportation service after Hurricane Sandy. Atlantic Express was enforcing the fares despite the   suspending them. Thinking the fare was suspended,  I didn't want to activate my 7Day Xbus Metrocard on a non-Monday (this was a Wednesday) so I scrambled through some coins which I usually carry and  I got yelled at ( in a rather unprofessional manner) because i was short a dime. I told the B/O i'll pay the dime the next day, but I found a grime-encrusted one deep in my work-bag and paid on my way out.

I do remember taking the BOSS test back in October...I'm still puzzled as far as why I got a notice in the mail?

Wouldn't know, I took BOSS in October too. That's weird. I'll keep an eye on my mailbox.

So far there appears to be two sessions for BOSS on May 09 2015 at Midwood HS, 10:00 and 13:00.

Correct me if I was wrong, were there three sessions for BOSS on Oct 04 2014 08:30, 11:00 and 13:30 at James Madison HS? I'm just trying to make guess of how many people are on this list (which I think will be ~14,350) based on an equation of school enrollment (capacity), number of exam sessions and making a guess of the no-shows (10%) and people who screwed up on the exam (5%). I like playing with numbers  

Thanks for the replies..for anyone on the job right now if you dont mind me asking, how is the job overall? Do you ladies and gentlemen like it? Hows the pay? Able to afford a home etc etc? Would appreciate an overall glance at the profession and get a better idea of whats it like to be a bus operator!!

 

Thanks! !!

See some posts starting at #838 in the [Thread: Bus Operator (OA) Exam No. 3101 is out] by our fellow NYCTF contributors, DueceDrives and hockeyplayer9, who have shared excellent information on what our first year would be like. 

Stay motivated and positive everyone!

I'm guessing that we may see a list in late May or even June! However, candidates may be get called in July.

Keep in mind that there are less than 800 candidates, not including those who have not reinstated their names on 2613 list. However, of those 800 interested or eligible for appointment to the position may vary considerably. My theory is that activity in the 2613 thread is due to HR scheduling candidates for classes 'x' number of classes in advance, hopefully for the benefit of those candidates wanting to gracefully exit their current positions. You'll hear take a 'leave of absence', which is not applicable in all situations. In my previous professional job, for example at a large Fortune 500 company, even if your leave of absence (you'll have to provide reasons why you are seeking this) was approved by the VP of your business unit, any employment during your LOA results in termination. 

Keep a close eye on that thread for an idea on the status.

For those who have not yet taken the BOSS exam.

NYC Transit Bus Operator, Exam No. 4600 - BOSS (NEW)

Candidates who were not originally scheduled to take the Bus Operator Selection Survey (BOSS) for this exam in October 2014 will be scheduled to take it on May 9, 2015. Such candidates should receive their admission letter by April 30, 2015. If you do not receive an admission letter by May 5, 2015, you must come to the MTA Exam Information Center located in the Lobby of 180 Livingston Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201 between the hours of 9 AM – 3 PM, Mondays through Fridays.

http://web.mta.info/nyct/hr/exams_updates.htm

Good Luck!

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikinews_Breaking_News.png

 

Service Change  Posted: 04/15/2015  6:07PM 

 

X17J, X21, X22, X31 and X22A New Jersey bound buses are detoured to the Holland Tunnel due to road obstruction in Lincoln Tunnel.

Allow additional travel time.

Wonder what that road obstruction is about....

 

I took the ferry back this evening. Usually the SI-buses go through the HLC Tunnel, never the Holland Tunnel. The traffic to get into the Holland Tunnel is not worth it. If the Gowanus is clear (which it is usually) you'll be at the VNB before you hit the NJ Turnpike Eastern Spur, then you'll crawl on the Bayonne Bridge.

Plus all the SI-buses (until ~18:30) take the center tube and avoid the Northern tube even when there is a backup (you can see before turning on Dyer, that the 41st Street Entrance is clear.

When you pass the road test, you will be given a receipt from the examiner to show dmv. At Dmv, you have to submit that receipt and your medical form that has to be filled out by a certified DOT phyician or etc. Once you submit everything they need, you will pay a fee To get a new Driver License ID. A new photo will also be taking.

 

You will get a temporary paper CDL document until they mail you a fresh Driver license that says commercial and the class you're certified to operate.

Thanks. I'm still not clear. Does this mean that document will include CDL B + D ? or do I have to maintain two documents? Sorry if my question was unclear. 

Omg how long are they going to take to schedule BOSS for the rest of the candidates? We want get moving geeze

Most agreed teegrid67. I had posted in the 2613 thread since it got real quiet over there to see where everyone was at (specifically those after 2800->3600's and nobody has heard anything from HR. I think we'll hear something soon, it depends on those who reinstate as well as those at the end who are interested or not in the position. Personally, i'm terrified of the BOSS exam results, its something like that gets me, though I am confident in nearly all my responses - one answer seems to bother me (and I worry about the existence of "knock-out" questions).

I also theorize that since BOSS is a subscription based examination, meaning that the MTA has to pay a private company for each candidate who takes the exam, they could have halved the candidates who took the BOSS exam for accounting and bookkeeping purposes. Essentially, the HR department was looking to come at budget or under budget for their fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2015 and begins April 1. So if this is true, then the remaining candidates will get scheduled soon.

Below are some insights from SubwayGuy a NYCT Train Operator regarding retirements and staffing changes from [Thread: Train Operator Exam 8098 DCAS notice of result letter arrived] on Post# 4633, I encourage everyone to read the preceding posts in that conversation for it's full context.

No. [ Ed. 161passenger - please see thread for full context]

 

But many retirements tend to take place around that time [ Ed. 161passenger - January/May] frame because in May is when annual allotments of sick balances come in, so people who are eligible for sick leave payout can retire in May and add to their terminal leave pay (or use the rest of their sick time if trying to zero their balance). In December/January is when vacation accruals from the previous year come in, so a lot of retirees will pick the first 5 weeks of the New Year as vacation, retire, and not come back from their vacation. By doing it this way, their last day of service is the end of their vacation, but their last actual day of work is much sooner. And by doing this at the beginning of the year (as opposed to the end), they avoid having to work most of the year without using their vacation, instead taking it immediately.

 

Other retirements happen throughout the year...as well as promotions, demotions, people resigning, etc. so staffing is a year round issue. Retirements do tend to "bunch" around those times, and they are aware of it.

Just some advice:

- If you have resolved court issues (criminal/traffic) in New Jersey, it is taking me about a week to get the certified copies from the municipal courts through the mail. 

- I am starting CDL training soon and was informed that the earliest CDL road tests on Staten Island are being held in June, so if anyone is going that route, my advice is to start soon.

- An A3 restriction (municipal operation) and medical certification exempt is OK for lessons, just check with the provider.

Question:

When you get the CDL license is it a separate license or document? OR does it include general D + CDL B P (airbrakes). OR by holding a CDL license, is it assumed you can drive regular passenger autos in addition to a bus (or an vehicle in the CDL class)? I keep forgetting to ask. - Thanks!

4266 got hit pretty bad in Bay Ridge, car looks f**ked bus looks OK.

What time was this? This appears to be an s79-SBS out of Yukon. I was in Bay Ridge about 3pm .

Also, thank you for reminding me.

From the Eltingville Transit Center, I made it to 34th and 6th Avenue on the s79-SBS ->  ->    before the SIR/Ferry/       combination or x17 did (it was at 23rd, I walked south when I saw it FYI-  the x17  left ETC not too long after I left - and I recognized the B/O who does that run) !! I left ETC at 2:30pm and arrived at 34th Street at a little before 4pm.

I saw 6124 at the Eltingville Transit Center today!

The bright yellow Gun Hill Road depot sticker caught my attention when it rolled up. Unfortunately, there was no destination on the destination sign, but my suspicions is that it was an s74.

All I have is a very grainy cell phone picture but I definitely saw it!

Parking tickets do not matter, everything else is needed. Pay 10 $ to be sure that you will not be turned away and you will be losing your spot in the class.

Thanks Olegkha! 

Question:

I have prior traffic tickets from New Jersey for incidents that occurred over 5 years ago but within ten, I want to get the dispositions at the courthouse. However, does HR require these documents to be "certified" or are plain copies without the stamps acceptable? Certified copies are $10-15 a piece versus 50 cents per page for the disposition, so that could become "expensive".

Question:

Do they want dispositions of parking tickets? I have a few from NYC. I also have one in New Jersey they are processed through the municipal court and everything is paid. I also have a parking ticket in Canada which was thrown out. 

Thanks!

Thanks YoungNYCSubwayFan and hockeyplayer9 for the advice!

I want to at a minimum go for a few lessons just to see how I handle a large vehicle. From what I have been reading, most NYCTF B/O forumers have commented on making the transition from the driver's seat behind the front axle to one being forward the front axle as something that one had to get used to. Since most driving schools do not have coach buses to train on, I might try either a low cab-forward box or a recreational vehicle.

As for interpersonal issues, I will do my part, remain humble and do the "know my role" but remain respectful and fair. For self-preservation purposes, I'm going to approach it as I do with nearly everything "if it is meant to be, it will be", then move on whatever the outcome.





 

Thanks!

Also, my apologies about post #1569, I should have done more research before replying. Again, my apologies.

No worries Young. I'm watching both 3101 & 2613 very closely.

What I think has everyone, including myself a bit anxious is that HR had said that  "... per the Notice of Examination, this may be up to nine months from when you took the test". Personally, whether my list number is 425, 1975 or 5840 having that number would provide some comfort.

Anyways, using the time to my advantage, I have received my CDL permit, have all motor vehicle/ traffic court records ready, lists of employment and working on some preventative health care (mainly diet). Hopefully, I can squeeze in a few CDL lessons soon. 

Well as of March 1st they reached 2887 of 3600+

I have a feeling they are catching up with the folks who reinstated their names judging by the activity in the 2613 thread OR the hiring needs of the Department of Buses has slowed. We'll know if someone posts to the thread or the April DCAS update.

Does anyone know if the medical exam inlcudes a color blind test and if a person is colorblind, will they be medically disqualified?

According to Gucio84, in Thread: Bus Operator (OA) Exam No. 3101 is out here is the process for the vision portion of the medical exam: 

They telling u to look into that eye testing machine. Its not like test they do at dmv that i have small and big letters on big paper. Here u see only o and they asking u to read from left to right and tell them in what direction o is open ie. c u will say right. But that open space is much smaller. The o have openning on left right down and up. It show u lines witj numbers from 1 to 10. line number 5 is cut off. if u can not read line 5 u done. Also they diaplay u only eight eye then left and then both. Later they show u bunch of different color dots and asking u what number u can see.

We cannot answer definitively if it is an automatic disqualifier, this will be ultimately determined by the TA's physicians, but it does not look good. See:

See Thread: Color blind MTA bus driver fights to get back behind wheel  and [link to www.nydailynews.com] .

Well, according to post # 4851 of the B/O 2613 thread (http://www.nyctransitforums.com/forums/topic/34980-bus-operator-exam-2613-questions/page-486), they are up to list # 3188. Therefore, out of 3,617 eligible candidates, they only have about 400 people to go, which is not a lot, since some don't pass the drug and/or medical examinations even before making it to Zerega.

 

Now you also need to keep in mind the hiring needs. If the majority of the Depots are full with Bus Operators, they may not release the list for a couple of months, since it is only valid for four [4] years.

 

Therefore, the 'word', in my opinion, is 'soon' since they have about 400 more people to process with the B/O exam 2613 list. You may be wondering "how soon" the list will be produced. One month? Three months? Six months? Only one can take an educated guess. But, again, I think it is 'soon'.

The member, riello, with list number 318X has not completed a drug test yet, so they're not quite there at the moment. It could be a safe bet that they aren't in (or have just entered) the 3000's. The 2613 forum has been very quiet except for those who reinstated. But they are definitely less than 1000 candidates away from completion. I would recommend those who self-scored 100 or got one wrong on the exam to think about getting their CDL permits done. 

True, but some folks don't want to deal with the express bus for whatever reason, and so they opt for the S89 light rail option.  I personally would go with the express bus because I hate having to make tons of transfers, but to each their own.

I ran the numbers  and the s89/HBLR option vs the x17A/PATH option. The s89/HBLR combination option is ALOT cheaper: The savings is $140 per month or $1680 / year. Honestly, I didn't know the spread was that much. (As you can tell I enjoy playing around with numbers). 

Table - Monthly s89 and Alternative Cost Comparisons

Sources: The agencies as of 23 March 2015.

A direct express bus to downtown Jersey City waterfront would be nice. However, AM rush hour traffic is horrendous and there are no dedicated lanes. 

It would make sense to extend the S89's hours. I mean, if they were planning to make the West Shore LRT across the bridge or something (which I don't see happening anytime soon), surely you should have had something operate across bridge during the midday first.

 

The S89's primary existence is to run across the bridge, right? (How did it perform before it was extended) Another option would be to extend the S59 across during non-rush hours. Might mess up the whole route, though.

I still disagree, again, you'll be over serving Richmond Avenue. The west shore light rail is just an idea that gets tossed around (mainly for political points), i'm not sure any comprehensive study has been completed for that idea. Personally I don't think it is needed, you can read my thoughts on this post (also you can see my additional thoughts on the s89 there). 

Midday (and weekend) service would be nice, but I think NJT should provide that service, especially if the service economically benefits New Jersey. The Port Authority and NJT should conduct surveys. I've expressed my ideas/proposals in previous posts regarding off-peak service. Running the s89 middays is probably cost-prohibitive (tolls, fuel, B/O pay, maintenance) for probable meager interstate off-peak ridership as well as the redundancy on Richmond Ave.

Prior to the s89 there were a few private companies that provided express-bus-type service between the South Shore of Staten Island and the Jersey City/Hoboken waterfront. Those ventures failed for whatever reason. The s89 is a bit of a success story for the MTA and was a way for Staten Island politicians to say they did something, it was kind of a win-win situation for everyone. The s59 extension is not really a good idea due to it's length, unless the route starts at the 8th Street HBLR and it short turns at Hylan Blvd and Richmond Ave.

Again, my previous post in the SIR section outlines some of the thoughts I have with connecting Staten Island to New Jersey.

I agree... The S89 more than anything is an alternative to the express bus, as it functions as a commuter bus.  The other difference is that is connects to a light rail.

Depending on where your place of employment is, the hour and traffic conditions, you could make it on the x17A (which follows the s89 along RIchmond Ave to the SI Expressway) to WTC PATH and downtown Jersey City quicker. Once the HOV lanes are ready, it might be worth it especially in the winter or poor weather conditions. As noted above there is a lot of walking up/down stairs and personally find the HBLR to be slow/crowded and you're probably standing during rush hour.

What is the difference between S89 and Bayonne shuttle? S89 links to HBLR which has flyer ltd stop trips to Jersey cityat rush hour.

The s89 serves the HBLR, not everyone wants HBLR. The majority of folks on the shuttle, which starts at the foot of the bridge are coming from the Boulevard, most likely the 10. Prior to demolition of the sidewalk, I encountered a number of folks who were not runners/joggers.

Ignoring the last few pages, I believe the S89 should be have expanded weekday service like the S93. This could help out NJ a bit. Would this work or SI doesn't look forward to NJ service like that?

The s89 is fine as it is, you would be over-serving Richmond Avenue (s59/s44).

I have been saying that NJT should expand either the 10 or the 81 to Richmond/Forest (s44/s59 and s48). The 81 seems like the best bet since it directly services both the 8th Street HBLR and makes it all the way to Grove and to Exchange Place. The 10 goes to Journal Square. We would have to see through surveys where it is needed.

Speaking of the s89, I would not be surprised if upon completion ~2017 of the Raise the Roadway project which involves raising the Bayonne Bridge that the Bayonne terminal of the route, presently at the 34th Street HBLR would be relocated to the 8th Street HBLR terminal. This would save the MTA money and time and shorten the commute for passengers as this eliminates the NJ-440 portion of the route (and a number of traffic lights) and alot of walking between the tracks and bus stop. The 8th Street station does support a bus stop, but has a tight left turn exit. However, Bayonne residents, might not like the idea of increased traffic and could object.