BusDriverWannabe

After you qualify Yes you should get to pick a depot from a short list but not for the 10-day training.

No. Not for the 10-day training. I have been told that they do try to assign you a training depot that may work best for you based on where you live but its not always possible especially lately since the class size has increased. BTW... when did you get assigned to the April 3rd class?

Thank You... You saved me some typing... This is how it was explained to me exactly about Queens. 2-months ago I declined my transfer to Queens because I could not get my head wrapped around the idea it was a lifetime, permanent one-way ticket. These were my 2 main reasons reasons for deciding against accepting the transfer: 1. Permanent: What if I want to move. What if the management (dispatchers, supers, generals) don't like me and I have no place to go I am stuck and they can make my life terrible with violations, no overtime, days off, etc... No Thank You! 2. Seniority: Nobody can leave so your seniority when you get there is gonna be your seniority until people retire. Not to mention, you loose any and all seniority when you transfer. So any seniority you earned while at a TWU shop is gone and you start all over again. BTW... seniority is everything! Schedule picks (hours), vacation dates, overtime, etc... Get stuck with 40-hour weeks, Tues-Wed RDO, vacations in Feb and Mar.... NO THANK YOU! I live in Flushing and work at West Farms so its just a simple ride on the Q44, 35-min door-to-door plus if I really want to work in Queens I can simply pick into Fresh Pond or Grand Ave depots. They are technically Brooklyn depots but are physically located in Queens.

Unlikely anytime too soon. There are several unions involved here with different viewpoints and decades long agendas. One of the big differences is the pension system. Only TA is civil appointment so entitled to participate in NYCERS (NY State Pension), OA and MTA Bus have different private pension system. TA is appointed/non-provisional (permanent) whereas OA and MTA Bus is provisional (not permanent). There is however no difference in pay. All bus operators get paid the same. One thing I will say, although things are messy and confusing, it has been getting a little better in recent years. It was a lot more messy a decade or so ago. MTA was actually composed of several separate bus companies in the past. At least now they are somewhat consolidated. It was only a year ago that depots could not even borrow buses from each other, today it happens all the time. Also worth noting that the new contract being implemented in April is actually a unified contract with both TWU and ATU so progress is happening but very slowly. I should however mention that not everybody is a fan of this unification. Some of the old-timers and hard core union members don't like these consolidations but we need to be respectful of there positions in this matter as they are the pioneers.

When I said Day 1, I wasn't referring to the 10-day training, it was in the context of my reply to Cory1018's question about the overrall process. But Yes Monday is commonly referred to as day 0 and Tuesday is the actual Day 1 of the 10-day training. Thank you for pointing that out. As far as the transfer issue, Yes operators hired from exam 4600 are TA and therefor can work at any depot that the TA chooses to put us into but we cannot pick into Staten Island or Queens ourselves. Staten Island and Queens depots do not have General Picks, that's an OA thing. We can request a transfer to a Staten Island or Queens depot but that is a one-way ticket for life (as a bus operator anyway). The pick you are referring to that occurs on GI day is not a general pick but rather simply a pick of available places they need operators at that time. When general pick day comes around in December that depot you picked on GI day may or may not be an available option. Also it may not be evident to you on the surface that they have a serious need for operators because many of the recent classes where just simply placed into SI but many do not wish to stay there because they live too far away and paying $250 a month for the bridge toll is not sustainable. I have heard of entire classes of new operators forced to go to SI in recent months. I know for a fact the entire class before mine in August was sent there without a choice. Of course things change rapidly in the MTA so its certainly possible that "serious need" doesn't apply today but I highly doubt it based on what I know.

On day 1, Orientation Day, fill out a transfer request to Staten Island. This way they know that you want to go there right away, there will be a very good chance you will get the transfer right after you qualify. They usually are in serious need for Staten Island operators. Don't ask me why a transfer, they will explain (sort of) to you at Zerega. This job/exam (4600) is for Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. To work in Queens or Staten Island requires a division transfer. I never got an good explanation, something about the unions I think. Good Luck!

No Trains, only buses. Use Google Maps, it will tell you exactly how to get there from anywhere. Staten Island is closer for the employment process in Brooklyn. Zerega is just the first and last day of the training you wont be in Zerega much. I have only been there 3-times... 1st Day (Orientation Day) PAPERWORK PAPERWORK PAPERWORK GI Day (General Information Day) Last day assuming you qualified (passed the training) Graduation Day (About 2-months from 1st Day) You finally get your badge and a will be allowed to drive the bus alone. Actually I was there a couple of other times during the 10-day training for simulators but went there with my classmates in the training bus. I mention this because you said you will probably stay in the Bronx. You wont have any say what depot you will go to for the 7-day training. Could be any of the 5-boros so I would keep the SI option open too because a lot of people get sent to Brooklyn and Queens for the training. Not sure how often people are sent to SI. If you qualify, you may get to pick a depot of your choice but even then not a lot of choices either and whatever that depot turns out to be will be your depot for the rest of the year. General picks don't occur until the end of the year.

Don't apologize for asking questions, that is one of the purposes of this forum.... Your question about how long this process takes is nearly impossible to get a consistent answer to. The standard answer is 3-90 days from pre-employment day. That is what they tell you when you are done giving them your urine specimen (drug test). They usually take 1-3 days to get the results then they will call you back for the Medical. They typically will not call you back to do the Medical until they are confident they have a class to put you into, that way they can appoint you immediately after you pass medical exam. Now here is the tricky part.... Your drug test is only good for 30-days, meaning your class start date cannot be more than 30 calendar days from the date you did your drug test. Because of that rule, things tend to happen really fast or really slow. If everything goes well with your drug test and they are processing people smoothly BANG you will be asked to return to the medical within a week which means they have 3-weeks to get you into a class. However, if they take 2-weeks to come in for a medical exam then they only have 2-weeks left to get you into a class. This happened to me. It took them 2 and 1/2 weeks last year to call me back for medical exam. When I passed my medical they sent me to get sworn in and then the clerk realized that the class they were about to put me in started 1-day after my drug expired so they put on the breaks on my appointment and suddenly I was back in the lab drinking water and waiting to pee. Because I had just peed for the sugar test for the medical exam just 20-min prior, it took me nearly 3-hours to pee again. So back home I went again to wait for them to get the results and call me back in to be sworn in and appointed. Took about another week. So for me it was about a month. Fortunately the medical exam is good for 90-days so its really about the drug test. A friend of mine was called in for pre-employment on a Thursday, medical on the following Wednesday, was appointed that same day and was shoved into the training class starting the very following Monday so for him it was 11-days. I have read similar stories on this forum as my friend and I and have also read stories of the full 90-days. There just is no one answer to your question. What I will say to you is perhaps you may want to plan on staying here (NYC) about 2-3 weeks for the hiring process and another 2-3 weeks for training especially if you don't already have a CDL Class B license because taking the state road test with the DMV adds a few more days to this process. Also keep very good records and printed receipts for all your travel expenses and even some of your lodging and food cost as all of that can be deducted from your taxes because its related to job hunting and believe me you will make a decent buck with the MTA so the deductions will help you get you a nice tax refund next year.

No. There are no dates on Social Security records anyway, just the years. Employers do not report employment dates. The information the social security administration has is only what is contained in the W2 you get once a year, which does not have monthly breakdown. Most of us only use the social security printout to help us remember who we worked for during our lives. Especially useful for us who have 30+ years of work history.

Have a friend about to go this week for medical. His number is 28xx. Has anybody gone to medical in the last few days that can tell us what training date they are still trying to fill? April 3rd or April 17th?

Well if you moved that far away you are in a pickle... The process takes time. First you will have to come in to do an initial pre-employment (paperwork,drug test, license review, etc), then you have to return to do your medical. Assuming you are medically approved then you have to go through the training and hopefully qualify. You don't really have this job until you qualify (pass the training). So for you to move back to NYC or wherever then go through this process is a risky idea because if you don't get the job officially then you are right back where you started with expense of NYC and no job. Perhaps you have a relative or a friend you can stay with for a about 2-3 weeks while you are doing the training to see if you actually get the job. So no I wouldn't remove yourself from the list now. But that is something only you can decide based on where you are now, finances and other factors.

There are no residency requirements for this job. You do however need to update your address with NYC/MTA Employment Office. I believe you need to contact DCAS at 212-669-1357 or call MTA HR at 347-643-8229/30/31. If I were you I would do it immediately as they will probably send pre-employment letters to 3200 to 3999 very soon.

Casey Stengel or Queens Village (both in Queens)

No. I took private CDL classes using a school bus in May and June of this year then passed my road test on July 5th then started MTA training 8/22. That's it, never had a commercial driving job.

I totally agree... Cruickshank is absolutely awesome! Tough but with a genuine interest in getting you qualified. I only had for 2-days but they were two extremely effective days. Whomever gets assigned to her should do the happy dance

Day 1-7: Supt Lella at Queens Village Depot Day 8-9: Supt Cruickshank at LaGuardia Depot Both had very different styles. Supt Lella was very fast paced (almost hurried) and used the right side convex mirror for his exclusive use which made it very difficult to see the right side of the bus properly. He is a terrific guy, very likeable and very funny with a big personality. I truly like him as a person but not a big fan of his training techniques. Supt Cruickshank is a veteran pro and truly an expert trainer. She was completely opposite of Lella. She prefers a slower pace and very methodical approach to training which I found refreshing. She adjusted a few things I was doing based on what Lella taught me and she positioned herself and trolley brake differently so she did not need the R/S convex mirror so that was very helpful too. That being said, I am grateful to Lella for teaching me so much during the first 7-days and it was a brilliant idea to change instructors for day 8 and 9. It allowed someone different to help me get thru my challenges. The MTA training program is well designed and highly effective. Although I must say and I think most will agree, the simulator training was useless and ineffective. I would have preferred to spend that time behind the wheel with the instructors.

Thank you! Happy to help anyone in any way possible. This forum has helped me and I just want to pay it forward ​

Hi Young.... Absolutely those handouts helped me and I printed them out for the other 3 students with me, they loved them as well. Even the instructor saw them and asked me for a copy. Thank you for "annoying" me with those LOL and for the time and effort of making them available to all of us. BTW... I did convert them into a single PDF file. Let me know if I should post it or send them to you.

I started my training on 8/22. Its a 10-Day training class. It goes something like this: Mon-: Orientation at Zerega (no actual training) Tue-Day 1 of training (location varies) Wed-Day 2 of training (location varies & simulator) Thu-Day 3 of training (location varies & simulator) Fri-Day 4 of training (EL Pillars in Brooklyn or elsewhere plus more) Mon-Day 5 of training (Upper East Side Manhattan) Tue-Day 6 of training (Union Square Manhattan) <-- Must be perfect/Satisfactory to qualify on Day 7 Wed-Day 7 of training (location varies) <-- Qualifying Day Chance #1 IF YOU QUALIFIED ON DAY 7 then you will be sent to Jamaica Depot to learn other model buses (RTS, Nova, Flier) if not you go on to DAY 8 and 9 with a new instructor... Thu-Day 8 of training (location varies) NEW INSTRUCTOR Fri-Day 9 of training (Upper East Side Manhattan) <-- Qualifying Day Chance #2 IF YOU DIDN'T QUALIFY ON DAY 9 you will have one final chance but you will have to do it in front of instructors... Mon-Day 10 of training (Zerega Bronx Area) <-- Qualifying Day FINAL CHANCE with 2-instructors DAY 10 is also Orientation Day of the next class. Pattern of Last few classes ​8/8 ​ ​8/22 ​9/6 - Starts on Tuesday because of Labor Day, which means Saturday will be a training day 9/19 10/3 - Presumably 10/17 - Presumably DMV Road Test are usually day or two after you qualify. MTA has special road test scheduling at Zerega DMV testing site. Hope that helps!

I just qualified on Friday (Day 9). Like you, I also got my CDL License just for this purpose. I partially disagree with you about it not making a difference for MTA training. Yes, you are right that having a CDL license will not make any difference learning how to drive an MTA bus but it did make a difference on other issues such as: - Pre-trip inspections: Having had to learn and do the pre-trip on a school bus got me very acquainted with the pre-trip process. Obviously there are several differences between a school bus and an MTA bus, but the process is mostly the same so for me it was just adjusting to the differences like "destination sign", "police/emergency lights", "kneel lights", "courtesy lights" etc. - Air Brake tests: This was a piece of cake for me. The only difference between what I had to do on the school bus was that "initial 10-PSI lost but no more than 2-PSI in 1-minute. On the school bus it was "NO INITIAL LOSS" and "No More than 3-PSI in one minute". Everything else was exactly the same. I breezed through the air brake test while others struggled with the process and oral representation (what I had to say out loud). Big advantage Let me add that the MTA training does not spend a lot of time with these two issues. The process takes too long for each of the 4-students to practice this so they tend to explain it once or twice then just referred you to the book to self-study. The DMV road test examiner is gonna want you to do the pre-trip and air brakes very well otherwise you will loose points for each item missed and possibly an immediate fail if you screw up the air brake test. A few other advantages I would have to add to having a CDL license: - If the class has to go a different borough that requires driving over a bridge, the trainer can let you drive the bus. NYS law prohibits CDL permit only students from driving over bridges and thru tunnels. To be honest, I learned a lot about driving the bus by being allowed to do the long drives from borough to borough. Especially in traffic where you are driving the bus stop-and-go and using the mirrors extensible. - The MTA teaches you how they want you to drive the bus but there are a few things that you must do differently for the DMV road test. The MTA trainer will point out the differences as you go along but not in great detail. For example, MTA wants you to drive on the right lane but because of the 4-foot clearance on the right you have to use almost half of the lane to your left. Do that for 6-9 days then suddenly for one hour you have to stop doing that for the DMV examiner. - Railroads and Drawbridges... There aren't many or any during the MTA training but there most likely will be at least one RR crossing or a make believe RR crossing during the road test. Better remember what to do! - If you qualify on day 7 or 9, you get 2-chances to pass your DMV road test but if you have to go all the way to day 10, you only get one chance to pass the road test. If you fail its all over, you will be asked to resign. More pressure!!! Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a difficult training and there is a lot of pressure to learn this stuff in 7-10 days. Remember there are 4-students per training bus so you only get about 1 1/2 hours per day actually behind the wheel. That's not that much. Some people pick it up quickly while others take a little longer. Its a big bus so it will take some time to get comfortable with it and all while scanning 3-mirrors every 3-5 seconds not to mention forward planning (looking a ahead for hazards, red lights, double-parked cars, pedestrians, etc.). Taking private lessons beforehand on a school bus actually gave me a head start on many of these issues plus bonus I was able to get my CDL license on my own. I do realize its expensive to take the private lessons so its not for everybody but if you can afford it and you really want to get this job I highly recommend it. Good Luck to all, I start line training soon. I appreciate everyone on this forum. It helped me a lot to read other people's experiences. My list number is 20x. Good Luck to all!

Employee ID is your BCS Number

Hi YoungNYC, I wanted to thank you and everyone on this forum. I have been on this topic for a few months and it has been both helpful and encouraging during this process. I am #20x. I got appointed yesterday and I report to Zerega on 8/22. Thanks to the information and advise you and others have posted I was able to be very prepared and everything went 100% smoothly for me, I even already have my CDL Class B License so I won't have the stress of passing the road test at the end. I will continue to monitor and post during my training so I can pay it forward for others as many have done for me. I wish good things for you YoungNYC and I am 100% positive you will knock it out of the park on your next chance to pass the training program, you have matured greatly and have been an inspiration to many of us. Everyone should be grateful to you for sharing your experiences and for spending so much time helping us on this site. THANK YOU!!!!

oh yes... if you are in the 47x range, get cracking on your permit immediately. Those tests are not as easy as you may think especially the air brakes and passenger. In addition as many in the past have mentioned, study the school bus questions too, they include some questions into the passenger exam that are covered in the school bus section of the CDL manual. I also recommend that you get to the DMV early and don't make any plans that you have to rush off to after as you will need time to go over the questions carefully so DON'T RUSH, they try to trip you up with words in the question like "NOT" and "EXCEPT FOR", things like that. When I took my exam, I sat down and took my sweet time and read the questions a couple of times before answering. It took me 90-mins to complete all 4-exams (I chose to take the school bus exam too even though it is not required for MTA). Remember you need to pass the General, Air Brake and Passenger exams. Also choose the "EXCEPTED INTERSTATE" (EI) for your driving type as you will not have a medical card. Choosing the (EI) type will put the A3 restriction on the permit which is what the MTA prefers. (EI) just means medical exemption. Driving for the MTA is a municipal job so the state medical exam will be required. To save time, download the MV-44 FORM here https://dmv.ny.gov/forms/mv44.pdf and fill it out before you go. They will require this form and make sure you take a couple of pens with you as they recently stopped offering pens at the DMV office which is a pain because then you have to go around begging people to a borrow a pen. Good luck!

Thank you bxvixen for the update but I can tell you they are well pass number 235 as far as processing. That is the last appointed that they are making public. I (number 20x) was just appointed yesterday and start training on 8/22 and there was at least one other person with me in the 300 range and last Friday when I went in for medical I was sitting next to a guy with a 500 number. I have also read people on this forum in the 700-800 range that have either received pre-employment letter or were waiting for medical. They seem to be all over the place with this list.

No that is not correct. The recording on DCAS hasn't been updated in 3-weeks. I am list number 20x and I was just there on Friday (8/5) doing my medical. I asked and they said last official number appointed was 199. However, I know for a fact that many in the 200-299 have been sent to training starting tomorrow and some on 8/22 which is when I am expected to go but I have not been told that officially because my drug test expires before 8/22 so I had to do it again on Friday. The 1024 is supposedly how many names they are currently going thru. I also have read many people on this forum in the 500 and 600 range that have been called in for pre-employment.