dissa2000

Finally finished probation. The longest year I ever had. Congratulations to 3/20/17 class who completed probation...

As for the starting pay goes, TWU 100 members get $23.26 and ATU 726 in Staten Island get $22.69. The reason is the ATU 726 has not signed the new contract yet hence the old rate. Once signed hopefully this month, starting pay will rise to $23.26 retroactive March 2017...

BOSS is for MaBSTOA (OA) bus operator position only.

You'll be serving few bus stops as well..don't hit or skin the curb..automatic disqualification..( the bus stop on 86th st. soon after you make the right from Lex to 86th and the one before turning to Madison on 86th, If I remember correctly.)

I went to day 10 myself in March and knew what to expect. Reading all the post on this forum made me confident. It helps to go there thinking that you can do this. I knew I was a good driver and the mistakes I made on previous qualifying days were unfortunate but can be avoided. Go with a positive attitude. That will help you not to be nervous.Apart from driving, you'll serve few bus stops. Call out everything you see..You really have to do something serious to fail on day 10 like hitting a curb, running a yellow light etc. Good luck...

Does anyone know out of which depot they do the line training in Staten Island? I've been granted my request to transfer to SI starting next week.(only after 3 weeks on the job.. :) ). I was told that I will have to train in one depot and transfer to the one I want, but nobody is still not sure how this process work. Can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks.

Once you reinstate, wait for two weeks and call Ms. Chesnut. That's about how long it will take Livingston to get the updates list from DCAS. If there's a class starting soon, she will call you for medical. Next class might be after summer if what I hear is correct. Good luck to you. 4/3 class is not going to Zerega tomorrow. Their graduation is on 5/17. Already had their GI day few weeks ago.

Graduation day tomorrow...Excited. Had a Beeki (an undercover ride) on my bus today. Said I did really well and I passed. What a way to end the line training.

Surprised they didn't call you. Last class was 4/17. Next will be after the summer as I heard.

Did the line training on M14D and M23 SBS on the Artic..Now I got the hang of it. (For the benefit of those who are not in the MTA yet, Artic for short is Articulated double buses with an accordion type bellow in the middle).

Congratulations...

Congratulations. I just had Supt. Hamlin for Artic training today. What a nice guy. You will not start line training at least till Thursday. Monday at Zerega you'll train to operate other type of buses. RTS, Nova and Excellsior Tuesday you'll go downtown Brooklyn to the Union office for orientation. Some of your classmates may have DMV road test that day. Wednesday is General Information (GI) day at Zerega. This is a big day since you'll pick your depot after lunch. They will post the available depots on the white board. If possible, take a picture of it and post it here. If you already have the CDL, then you'll report to the depot you picked on Thursday for line training. If you still have to take the road test, then you'll report to Zerega every day until your road test. You'll get a bit of training for the road test. Good luck..!!

Artic training tomorrow at Kingsbridge

It was about 40 mins. Turns, straight backup, parallel parking and highway driving.

Sorry, I don't know exactly what you're asking? Love to help if you can be more specific.. Thank you very much..Now the challenge is to finish probation clean..

Not fair to post names in public.

Today I found out I had the toughest Supt. for the 7 day training. This came out from another Supt. But he trained us really well. Barked at you when a mistake was made. Sure,,,he made you nervous most of the time. Everyone has their own way of teaching. Just don't be intimidated. Remember, you're going to encounter much worst people while driving the bus. Just get a taste of what's coming. After the first 7 days I had 6 more instructors until my road test. Their personalities did differ vastly. As I said, first one was like a drill sergeant, and another one was so sweet like a kindergarten teacher. I was already prepared for the worst going into my training. That helped me a lot. I said this in a previous post. I have nothing but lot of respect for these instructors. They have one of the toughest jobs in MTA. It's hard enough for us to learn to drive a 40 foot bus safely in 7-10 days, just imagine that the instructor has to train 4 people with different personalities and different driving experience to do the same in the said time. AND they have to repeat it over and over again. Trust me, they do a fine job of training us not just to operate that bus, but to do it safely. I still remember how I lost my cool when training my wife and son. So, for me, it's surprising how some instructors keep calm when dealing with so many different type of students. There may have been one or two instructors in the past who have abused their authority, but currently, I don't think there's anyone who disrespect a student. That's my personal opinion.

All 8 of us passed the DMV road test today..depot orientation tomorrow and line training starts day after...

Application period for the next exam 7612 will be from May 5th to 23rd. Application period for the 4600 was in August 2013. Test was administered after 3 months in November 2013.

Thank you. I'll do the same for my road test. Hope I'll get an examiner who didn't get up from the wrong side of the bed that morning..lol..

Out of 76 in our 3/20 class, only 54 qualified. That's a 29% failure. Another 11% will be fired during probation for various reasons.Eight of us still have to pass the dmv road test. Two of them who qualified on day 7 failed the road test first time. Three of us have only one shot at it since we are day 10 qualifiers. Don't know how many of us will make it through. What I'm saying here is, don't take this training lightly. It's very intense and you only get about 30 to 45 mins average driving time a day during the training. If you have never driven a bus before, that's not much. If you're really serous about getting this job, get your CDL before the training. Not only you'll have one less hurdle to jump, but you'll have some experience driving a bus. On top of all that, you might get an instructor who might make you very nervous while on the seat. Don't get me wrong here. MTA instructors are the best. Everyone of them do a superb job. Just that some of them come really hard at you. Their ultimate goal is to not only to teach you to drive a bus, but to do it safely. I think they have the most difficult job in MTA. I have my utmost respect for them. MTA might not get everything done right, but their training program is top notch. I think the best in the world. So people, take the training very seriously. No matter if you are an experience heavy vehicle driver, this training will throw you off balance. You only have 7 to 10 days to grasp everything they throw at you. If you believe in a higher power, then this is the time to start praying. Even if you get the job, pray daily, one simple mistake can be fatal. Go with a positive attitude. Be like a blotting paper. Absorb everything. The key is to LISTEN to your instructor. Do exactly what he or she says. I mean EXACTLY. My very best wishes for all the future candidates.

Here's some info I got today. If you fail your DMV road test first time, you have to do the MTA qualification again. First two days training, and have to qualify on the 3rd day. If you fail, you resign. IF you fail the road test twice, you're out.

Yes, but not more than 2 if I remember correctly

Yes to both

No Ulmer Park, no Jackie Gleason, No Flatbush. Mostly Manhattan and the Bronx. I picked Michael J. Quill. I still have to pass the DMV road test. Just one shot at it.