BusDriverWannabe

Has anyone with a list number over 200 go in this week for medical/hiring?

That's awesome!!! I am happy to hear that things went well for you today. I wish you well and hope that your family member has a speedy recovery. ​

I had the same issue... I had to go back to the 80's... I had to piece it together as best I could using memory and resumes. The important thing to do is not to have gaps. If you were unemployed, you need to state that on the paperwork, NO GAPS! When I asked the clerk at the SS office she explained to me that the SSA does not get work dates. All they do is enter the information from the W2 and she doesn't believe the MTA would actually have a way to verify the dates put on the application unless they call the employer or request employer payroll records from the IRS so its very unlikely it would be a problem if you don't get the months exactly right but try your best to be as close as possible. There is no other option.

WOW!!! That's tough problem alright! Here is my opinion of what you might consider doing but I encourage others to perhaps throw in there two-cents... First of all, you have already revealed your actual list number a few months ago and you are providing details of your issue and since you don't truly know who monitoring these forums I strongly suggest you be honest with the MTA otherwise that can create new problems for yourself that you don't need. Second of all, you obsoletely need to get a friend, family member or visiting nurse to back you up in the event you take this advice... I think you should proceed forward with your medical and application process. There is always the possibility that either something could cause a delay with you application or even your medical that would put you on a medical hold. For example, high blood pressure, blood sugar, irregular heartbeat (from EKG) etc.. Of course you don't want that to happen but it can and if it does that will buy you some additional time. Of course the other option would be to request that your list number be put on hold but of course that means you will have to do it all over again. The drug test and the 21-page application. I believe they expire 30-day and 90-days respectively. One thing I want to mention, are you sure its the medical they calling you in for or is for a new drug test? If its for another drug test then you may have some time. If you can, I would look into the visiting nurse idea, it may be worth the money so that you can take advantage of this opportunity to work for the MTA. ​Good Luck Buddy!

If the DMV gave you a permit with an A3 restriction, it means that you elected medical exemption. (EI or EA) on your MV-44 form. Otherwise you would have been required to submit a DOT medical certificate. Medical exemption basically just means that the purpose of the CDL is to drive for the government or a school bus. The MTA or school bus carrier will have you take an annual medical under the NYS Article 19-A program. It also means you cannot drive for a private non-school bus company (like Academy, Greyhound, etc) or even a delivery truck. Those jobs will not hire you with an A3 restriction on your license. So basically, you will be limited to driving a school bus (if you have the S endorsement) or the MTA. Do keep in mind that you also need the P (Passenger) endorsement to work for the MTA.

Received pre-employment letter today. I have to report to 180 Livingston St on Monday 7/18. My number is 20x.

Based on how things work technology-wise, it appears someone at the MTA checked-out the entire list or a very large portion of it. As I explained several weeks ago, whenever the MTA needs to pull names from the 4600 list, they login to DCAS, specify a quantity of names to "download" or "checkout". The may only need to get 100 or so names but they could also just skip the search criteria and pull the whole list, resulting on the entire list being on an "outstanding certification". I wouldn't and usually don't try to read too much into why some numbers/people are or are not in outstanding certification status but rather use the fact that when any portion of the list is on "outstanding certification" as indicator of hiring activity. When the status is "not on an outstanding certification" I know they stopped pulling names and are doing something with the names selected. For me personally its just a way to know when to be extra attentive to the mail and perhaps feel free to go on a short vacation without worrying that they will notify me while I am away.

I am not familiar with a non-CDL license that requires a DOT physical. That's a new one for me. As far as amending your license, unless its required by this private company I wouldn't. You will need a Class B with A3 exemption along with Air Brakes and Passenger (P) endorsement. Just to be clear, air brakes is not an endorsement its actually a class B without the restriction. Perhaps someone else can offer more insight a DOT Physical for a regular license.

Define "Letter". Most of us have received letters. If your friend got a pre-employment letter a while back then he/she would have been hired/appointed and DCAS and MTA Hiring center would not be reporting last appointed as 95 for list 4600. You wrote "who works with me" which means your friend isn't working with the MTA yet. If I'm wrong I'm wrong but just trying to understand your point. Pre-Employment Letters is what we are all waiting for, which will instruct us to come in to start the hiring process.

Probably a better question might be has anybody in the 100s get a letter. Last appointed number was 95. Don't believe what has been reported on this site a couple of months ago that they sent letters to the first 200, that just not true. Maybe now we will see some letters since the list is currently on "Outstanding Certification" which means they are actively pulling from the list.

Good Morning Everyone... So I just checked the DCAS hotline for Sunday's update and they are back to: "ON AN OUTSTANDING CERTIFICATION" so anyone with a list number of 96 to probably as high 300 should be on the lookout for pre-employment letter. As I have described a few weeks ago when status is "ON AN OUSTANDING CERTIFICATION" it means they are pulling more applicants from the list. Good Luck To All !

Well its kind of hard to explain... When you study for your permit exams there are several things that you will learn that are mental, behavioral and procedural. For example your vehicle height and required clearance when driving under bridges and thru underpasses and other thing like always have to use the right-most lane, school crossing and bumpy roads. So lets take a couple of these things: 1. Clearance: You always have to be aware of your vehicle height and the clearance required as you drive through tunnels, under bridges and underpasses. In your head you know that if your bus is say 11' 3" then you have to determine if it is safe to drive under a low clearance situation. So if you are driving into say a tunnel or underpass and there is a sign that say 12' 6" then in your mind you know that you will fit safely but since the examiner/trainer can read your thoughts you have to speak out loudly "call out" the potential hazard so in that case I would say out loud "UNDERPASS 12-6... 11-3 CLEARANCE"... By calling out that hazard you are letting the examiner know that you are aware of the potential clearance hazard. Let's say the underpass was 10' then you would instead have to say something like "UNDERPASS 10-feet 11-3 needed, LOW CLEARANCE" then stop the bus. Of course this is all common sense and its usually going on in your brain, but during the road test you have to say it out loud so the examiner is aware that you are calculating the potential hazards. 2. Bumpy Roads: When you are driving the bus, the examiner will grade you on your ability to maintain speed. Buses use leaf springs. You cannot drive fast through a bumpy with a vehicle with leaf springs because of the risk of damaging the springs so you have to slow-down. But remember what I said, you are also expected to maintain speed, so if you are going to slow-down you can't just slow-down without saying "Hazard, Bumpy Road, proceeding with caution". The examiner will not penalize you for not maintaining your speed. Again, this is something you would calculate in your brain but you have to say it out loud. 3. Right-Most Lane: You are always required to drive your bus on the right lane. If it's a 3-lane or more road and the right lane has parked cars, common sense says you can't drive in the right lane because there are cars parked in that lane so you have to say "Hazard Cars Parked in Right Lane". I know it sounds silly but the idea is that you need to communicate that to the examiner. 4. Construction: Whenever you are about to drive pass a construction zone or even some red cones, you have to Call Out: "Hazard Construction ahead on my right/left". 5. School Crossing: You must say "Hazard School Crossing ahead, proceeding with caution" There are many other things you need to call out but I think you get the point.... Its a pain in the a** to get use to doing that.

Well I don't think the bus operator training is all that difficult however getting your Commercial Driver's License (CDL) is challenging, especially if you have been driving a regular car for many years. Many of the bad habits we develop driving a regular car are big no-no's when driving a bus or truck. Another thing that may make it difficult for many to get through the MTA Bus Operator training is the intensity of the training. 7-8 hours a day for 7-10 days is not easy. You are focused on so many things like mirrors, traffic, tight-turns, air brakes, pedestrians, etc. and all this while you are calling out all the hazards to the examiner/trainer. I have been taking private lessons and I must say I am usually happy when each lesson is over. I must add... Bus Operator training will be a picnic compared to the Police Academy. I don't know anything about it but I do have a good friend that graduated in the last academy class and he said it was very, very difficult. I will not answer any questions about Police training as I am the wrong person to ask and this is not the forum for that.

Wow! That's an impossible question for anybody to answer, but I will answer it this way... There are 8,221 people on the 4600 exam list and from what I read in the newspapers, almost 15,000 took the exam in 2013. Make your own conclusions. It is a very tough job so you are gonna find drivers that will say that, either they are being honest or they are selfishly saying that to make sure there is always overtime or maybe a little bit of both.

That I'm not sure about but if I had to guess, not voluntary turnover. The job pays pretty well, there is a lot of overtime, benefits are awesome, retirement contributions are solid and its relatively difficult to get fired. I will put it this way, I have 9 family members that are bus drivers and dispatchers and most family events/parties are jammed packed with MTA workers since most family friends work for the MTA in some capacity and in the 30+ years of this pattern, I have yet met someone or heard of someone leaving the job voluntarily. Fired for various reasons yes, but not leaving for a different career. Now keep in mind that there is a probation period (about 1-year I think) so most firings are during that period. Also takes 3-years before you get the better pay so perhaps some may leave if they can't support themselves during that time. But generally, I have to believe turnover is not high. Maybe someone else might have hard factual numbers.

There has been a lot of old-timers retiring during the past 20-months so many young adults have to decide between 20-years of college debt or working for 25-years and retiring with full pension and medical. So yeah there will be many young bus drivers, train conductors and police officers among other civil workers.

Drive a 40-foot 43,000-pound bus around the streets of New York City for 8-hours, stop every 3-4 blocks to pickup proud New Yorkers, avoid killing people texting while walking, stay on schedule but don't drive too fast and get caught by red light cameras(you pay those tickets), submit to and pass regular medical exams, submit to random drug test, transport lovely unescorted teenagers to school and back home and finally avoid accidentally hitting a pedestrian (mandatory automatic arrest)...... No Not Really.

Correct... At least for now but your time will come

OK. So I read and reread all these replies/posts including my own and was completely confused.. again... about this whole outstanding certification thing, so I decided to call someone that I know who works for the city's IT department and asked for a complete explanation of what this thing means. Basically tdevon2012's last entry is correct but I would like to expand on his posts to help explain to whomever is interested in the "technical explanation" I was given by someone who understands DCAS from a information technology standpoint. The person I know is part of the database management team for these lists. Anyone who doesn't want to be bothered with the technical explanation can just stop reading now and just relax it doesn't mean anything regarding your employment status and you are fine and are still on the waiting list regardless whether you are "on an outstanding certification" or not....Period! Now for the wonky stuff.... DCAS is the main database of people applying for any job with a city agency (except public school teachers). When anybody takes an exam or applies for an open position with a city agency (like the MTA, Dept of Health, Courts, NYPD, etc) the applicants information is stored in the DCAS database. When a city agency is actively hiring, they request eligible applicants from the DCAS database that fit the profile or have passed the required exams for the positions they are trying to fill. When the city human resources department sends the applicants information from DCAS to the agency, the status of the applicants sent to the agency changes to "ON AN OUSTANDING CERTIFICATION". When the city agency has filled the open positions the agency stops picking from the list and releases the remaining applicants back to city human resources department and the DCAS database is updated. The people not hired/selected remain on the list and the status changes to "NOT ON AN OUSTANDING CERTIFICATION". The next time a city agency is actively hiring the process repeats itself... over and over again until there are no more applicants left or the list expires, which ever comes first. I ask my friend why do they do this, he/she said that in the case of 4600 bus operator list it sort of useless because its not very common for multiple city agencies to request a list of bus drivers but there are many agencies that can draw applicants from more common DCAS list such as Civil Service Exam, Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters, you get the idea. In our case its usually just the MTA that gets applicants from list 4600. Think of it like a public library, someone checks-out a book the system says the book is not available ("ON AN OUTSTANDING CERTIFICATION") when the book is returned then the system says the book is available ("IS NOT ON AN OUTSTANDING CERTIFICATION"). The one thing my friend did say is that truth be told, its been debated internally that this status information be available publicly because its really an internal thing between agencies and the DCAS system administrators but they wanted to give people a little bit of an indication of current activity. He explained, if the status is "ON AN OUSTANDING CERTIFICATION" then be aware that they are selecting people or as he/she says, the list is HOT. If the status is "NOT ON AN OUTSTANDING CERTIFICATION" the list is "COLD" and the MTA is not actively selecting drivers (in the case of the 4600 list). So ladies and gentlemen that is the explanation. If when you check the DCAS hotline it says you are "ON AN OUTSTANDING CERTIFICATION" check your mailbox for a pre-employment letter otherwise don't be anxious about a letter. Hope that helps! Please don't flood me with questions or requests for more detail than this, I pretty much wrote everything I know and can say publicly.

Well first of all do not panic. Call the MTA Hiring Center tomorrow between 11-4 at 347-643-8229. Tell them the DCAS automated system is reporting that the last certified number for exam 4600 is 1024 but that your number is still reported as outstanding certification and ask if they can help you understand why that might be the case. Please keep in mind the people answering those calls are the very same people you will be dealing with when you finally are called in so be polite, patient and respectful. I have read a couple of people comment on this forum that they too are in your situation but I haven't read anybody return with any more info so perhaps you can share any general info that you learn. Good Luck!

As I already wrote before 'Yes" I was on an outstanding certification... Everybody starts off on the list as an outstanding certification, then as people become certified the status changes to NOT on outstanding certification. Certification essentially means the government has determined that you are eligible for appointment (hiring), which gives the MTA the green light to proceed with the next steps in the hiring process. Doesn't mean we are hired, just that whatever the criteria that has been set to be eligible for appointment has been met. This prevents the MTA from spending the time and money required to interview you, process your pre-employment application, test us for drugs and doing a medical just to find out later that for some reason you are ineligible for appointment to a civil job. As far as the pre-employment package sent/mailed. We will receive a letter informing us when to go to MTA hiring center in Brooklyn. At that time, we will receive the pre-employment package/paperwork and as I understand it we will then be called back to return the paperwork and take a drug test and exam. I have not received that letter yet. Although it has been repeatedly reported on this forum that they sent letters to first 200 numbers, that is not the case. Hiring center tells me only the first 95 have been contacted.

Not sure I understand your question. If you are asking if I was on an outstanding certification a month ago, maybe. I don't check the DCAS system every week. When I checked on Sunday May 29th was the first time the system recording said I was NOT on outstanding certification. I don't remember exactly when I had checked before that day, maybe 3-weeks. The system updates every Sunday. The recording also said the last certified number was 1024. If you are asking because you are still on "outstanding" and your number is below 1024 then I would recommend that you call MTA Hiring Center between 11am-4pm at 347-643-8229 and see if they know of a problem with your eligibility.

"not currently on an outstanding certification" as of last Sunday's update.

If you are who I think you are based on your screen name your number is in the 1xxx range, you would be wise to take lessons and go take your road test so that you will have your CDL Class B license with air brakes and passenger. They are only up to 95. When I spoke to them about my status they told me probably around the end of this year and my number is 2xx so very unlikely (not impossible) that they will not call you before the additional 6-months you just renewed your permit for. Besides, it has been said on this forum topic as well as many others that there is a huge advantage to already having your CDL license when going through the MTA training. Like I said the many reasons have already been discussed to death but the main reason is that you will only get 1 or 2 chances to pass your road test with the MTA training and if you fail, you are completely done and will have to start all over again from the very beginning. That means you loose your place on this list and will have wait several years for a new list to be established plus you will feel a lot less pressure during the MTA training because all you have to do is pass the MTA training itself. That's what I have been doing. I have already taken 8-hours of training and the instructor says I am ready for road exam. I am scheduled for July 5th.

We are referring to the CDL Permit. Not the actual CDL License. A permit can be renewed once after 6-months for an additional 6-months.