KDGallagher

Reached out to get my name put back on the list a few days ago and received this email today from the MTA:

I've emailed DCAS first and a day after I reached out via email to a few people over at the MTA. I assume this email is a result of me reaching out to the MTA as they say they're contacting DCAS on my behalf. 

For those interested in reinstating your name, I recommend going the route of reaching out to the MTA. Posted their email as there's info in it that may be helpful to others. 

Two people I reached out to were Ms E. Rivera & Ms Patricia Lodge. 

Looking forward to starting the process 

On 8/30/2021 at 4:32 PM, +Young+ said:

Between what they sent you and what is in the green announcement box at the top of the webpage, the instructions should be self-explanatory.

To make a long story short: If you type "Bus Operator" into the search box of this webpage, you will see that those folks who restored their name to the list for B/O Exam 4600 got first preference, since this list was published first, followed by the folks from B/O Exam 7612, since this list was published next, followed by the person from this examination, before they started calling in sequential order off of this list (594, 595, 596, 597, etc.) Therefore, your name will be placed at the "top of the list" for this list. Just keep in mind that the 4600 list doesn't expire until this January, and the 7612 list doesn't expire until next October, providing they do not extend that list.

After emailing them, should I expect a response/confirmation? Only thing I've received has been an automated email response saying they're out of office and a bunch of DCAS email addresses to email if I need certain services

Does anyone know how to restore my name to the list for this exam? 

My list number is 7*, I assume this list is in the 500s-600s by now, would I be placed at the top of the list assuming I'm put back on the list? How does list restoration work? 

edit: Forgot I had emailed the MTA back in December about this and they sent me this: 

Quote

 

Thank you for contacting our office.

 

Kindly reach out to DCAS via email and request to have your name restored to the cert for future hiring.

 

Please provide your full name, last 4 digits of your SSN, Exam #, list #, and a brief statement requesting to have your name restored back to the Bus Op cert list.

 

The email address is certificationunit@dcas.nyc.gov

 

Thank you and stay safe.

 

Employment Operations

MTA NYCT Human Resources

 

18 hours ago, train1290 said:

Yes my group of 4 got to drive the new flyer bus model, We didn't get a chance to drive the Nova bus, tomorrow we will do that. Personally, I don't like the brakes on the new flyer bus, its so hard and stiff, plus it has an interlock feature on it that after depressing it for 3 seconds, itll sink and then you can take your foot off the brake pedal. I'm not a fan of it, I like the Orion brakes, they're very smooth to depress. So after tomorrow, I guess we will be off for Saturday, how about Sunday, do you think we will be working or have to go to Zerega, or we'll be off that day too?

Did everyone you train with graduate day 7? 

2 hours ago, train1290 said:

Hi guys, so I qualified today, tomorrow I'm going to Jamaica Depot. Question, when does Line training begin? When do I get a schedule?

Congrats!!

4 hours ago, ActionMike said:

It’s a good job, get a sleep study, it’s 50/50, either you have it or not, if you don’t have it just summit it to the doctors and you’ll be fine, if you have it you have to use the machine and be 70% for 30 days. Good luck to u on whatever you choice 

How does this work? They just pick people who they view as a "risk"? 

I looked at the symptoms, I don't believe I have it. Do you see a doctor and they tell you whether you have it or not or is this 30 day 70% thing the way you prove you don't have it? 

45 minutes ago, BoRi1976 said:

Hello to all and good luck to all with their Medicals and training. I think I'm done trying for this position. After all that I've been through to try and keep myself healthy.... now they want a damn sleep study. SmH. They wanna put me on medical hold. I don't think I'm wasting my time on this anymore. I'm usually don't get stressed but damn. Anyway sorry for the rant. Stay safe people✌

Why are they sending you for the sleep study? 

if you don't mind me asking, how much do you weigh/height?

I've read on here if your neck is larger than a certain size they automatically send you for that test, wonder how true that is. 

22 hours ago, train1290 said:

Yes I corrected the drifting, I, however was making a left turn and saw two cars coming towards me, one was already passing me on the left. once it passed me, I started to turn and start to go to the right. I figured since i was first in the intersection I had right of way, and the other car was not near me, it was half a block away. My instructor said no they have right of way because I was going left. Now is that the same for right turns too if you're waiting to turn right and are already in the intersection waiting to turn right and theres another vehicle coming in the opposite direction thats half a block away and is not inside the instersection do we have to stop and wait for them to go first? regardless if its a right or left turn?

What did you do to correct the drifting? 

1 hour ago, train1290 said:

So Day 2 was today, well the only problems im having is not covering my right side, Drifting as my instructor calls it instead of keeping my wheel straight before making turns either left or right. He said to pretend I'm going straight and before im going to turn, stop and line up my referance point, then start the turn. And, I'm not scanning my mirrors every 3-5 seconds.

How many people are you training with? 
 

how was it driving the bus for the first time? What did they have y’all doing today?

Does the MTA still do tuition reimbursement? 

http://twulocal100tuf.org/tuitionreimbursement.php

Is there a catch or do you simply bring a copy of your grades and they pay up to $4k of the bill every year? 

14 minutes ago, +Young+ said:

The initial 10-Day Training Session will be on the Orion buses (4000 series), which can be seen in the videos in this thread/topic.

Thank you. 

Been exhausting those videos, thank you for posting them on your channel, memorized the ALSAPS test and starting to take notes on the wrap around and gauges. 

Anyone know what model of bus we'll be training on? 

42 minutes ago, SoSpectacular said:

Seniority varies by depot. I'm almost 2.5 years in and I'm able to see a few Thursday/Friday runs over here at Gleason, but still nothing really desirable. 5 years in I would say you have a good shot at picking something decent. 

I recently got contacted for an exam I took well before I went with Transit for motor vehicle operator but the pay is nowhere near as good as what I'm getting now unfortunately. Don't think I would change up that quickly.

How many operators are usually assigned to a bus route? 

And how exactly are you picking a run? From highest seniority to lowest, do they just go around with a list of bus routes, report/clear times, and days off and just allow you to pick what u want? How many slots for each run are there? For example how many people in your depot have a 7 am report, S/S off for the B4 bus route? Once 1 person pick it is it done and then crossed off and the next closest is 7:05 report, crossed off then on to 7:15 report .... all the way until all thats left is 2 pm report, Wednesday and Thursday off?

if anyone on this list or any other list is interested in getting their CDL for free, check out Red Hook on the Road. it's a free CDL program.

I recently called them earlier in the week, they sent an authorization form for them to check out your driving record (no DUIs or tickets I assume), and after approval they'll email you to join a zoom call orientation / info session where they'll tell you more about to program and whatnot. 

It's a 4 week long program, 1 week in class, 3 weeks behind the wheel. I believe you need to be unemployed to quality 

https://bwiny.org/red-hook-on-the-road/overview/

1 hour ago, Flatbush Operator said:

Best stable career right now besides Sanitation, FDNY and NYPD. We have some flaws, but hopefully  the union get the right leadership in place to shake up some things.

Picking a desirable run all depends on the depot. Some depots  are considered “High seniority” where you may never see a decent paying run with good rdo’s until you reach 10-15 years. I currently have 5 years on the job, and I can say I’m able to work AM’s instead of PM’s. Right now I can get a SS or SM RDO but I would have to work late PM run in order to get that RDO versus a high seniority operator who can work AM and still get weekends off.

If I had to leave and go someplace else, it would probably be a court officer. But right now I’m already at top pay and have opportunities to move forward up the ladders within the transit system when the time is right.

That's good to hear , thanks for ya insight.

Not that it really matters to me, when the time comes I won't be picky, but what are some examples of "high seniority" depots on the TA side? Examples of "low seniority"? I believe I read that Staten Island is where you're able to get better runs earlier in your career. 

Also, lets say I want to move to Rockland County (north of the Bronx) as a TA employee. Is it possible to pick into an OA depot in the Bronx? Would this make it so that I'm stuck there or will I be able to have flexibility?

How is the turnover for this position? 

Around how many years into the job are you able to pick from the more desired runs? By year 3? Year 7? Year 15? 

Any of you current B/Os, are there any other civil service jobs you'd leave TA for? For example Firefighter, Suffolk County police, etc 

Does anyone know the cost to renew a CDL permit at the DMV? Been searching high and wide but can't find the info

Also if I schedule an appointment to go in for the school bus endorsement, once I'm inside will they allow me to handle other things such as renewing my license or am I strictly allowed to just take the test and then leave?

14 hours ago, Flatbush Operator said:

Training is a total of 6 weeks:

Day 1 - 7 is the first-round qualification. From day 1 to 5 is instruction teaching. Day 6 is Pre-Qualification. You must do good on day 6 to qualify for day 7. On day 7 if you do good, you’re officially qualified from the first initial qualification round and move forward learning other type of buses. If you fail day 6 and/or 7, you will have to go to day 8 and 9 with another Supt instructor at another depot. 

Day 8 is instruction learning

Day 9 is Qualification day. If you pass, you move forward with the others that Qualified on day 7 and learn other type of buses. If you failed day 9, you will get one more chance by going to day 10.

Day 10 is qualification testing but this time back at Zerega with 2 Supt Instructor on the bus determining whether or not you will move forward or get disqualified.

By now all who has been qualified for the job will move forward. Your next training will be on day 14 at the depot you pick or forced to go based on seniority order within your class to learn the routes with a senior operator at the depot you will be working for the next 2/3 weeks until you graduate. Oh by the way it's called “Line Training”. After you successfully complete line training, You will go back to Zerega for graduation and you will receive a certificate and a bus operator badge. Once you receive a badge, you are officially a Probie and will be operating a bus on your own within the depot you line trained out of.  You will be on probation for one year. The probation starts from the day you was appointed which is the day you first attended Zerega. 

 

 

Seniority order within a class is determined how? By list number?

16 minutes ago, SevenEleven said:

Usually runs don't get picked because it's not the weekends off, there's a lot of vehicle time (time with the bus) vs. swing time. You might be doing trips that are hard trips. You might be work working all day. You might be stuck in traffic half the time. Everyone has their reasons for picking and not picking something. The work during the week might be great but on the weekends, you get killed.

I didn't pick it again (well couldn't because I got bumped off it anyways) because it was a lot of work and I spent ALL day at work. My swings weren't big enough for me to go home for a bit. It was great because it was a 55 hour run but I despised my Sunday work. I had two swings because that was the way the run was setup. I reported at 1pm, did a school tripper on the S56, swung for an hour. Pulled out, did a trip and a half, swung for 40 mins and then did 2 and a half more. The S40 serves the Amazon warehouse here and those people are different. 🥴

I kept my bus during both of my swings, so I was able to have extra time but still. I spent all day on the road. Your swing time is paid out as follows:

If the total amount of swing time in your run is:

- 0-59 mins, you get paid the whole thing.

-60-120 mins, you get paid 1hr.

->120 mins, you get paid for half of it.

Right now, I'm on Vacation Relief and I'm picking runs that pay at least 9 and a half hours with decent swings and definitely less work. Here are some of the runs that I've done this pick:

S52/SIM33: A round on each with a 3 hr swing in between (545am-430pm)

s53: Two rounds, swing for 6 hours, 1 round (6am-630pm)

SIM33: 1 round, swing for 4 hours, deadhead to the city and do the trip back. (12pm-1130pm)

Meredith XL: Report at 545am, standby for 20 mins, given run at 605, trip to the city, deadhead back, swing for 5 hours, two trips out of the city and done (605am-6pm)

Second day of that: Report 530, given run at 730am. Did a trip to the city, swing for 4 and a half hours, two trips out at night. (730am-9pm)

All of these runs paid at least 10 hours. Second day at Meredith paid 15.

Thanks for the informative answer

So pretty much swing time is just free time? You mentioned your previous swings weren't long enough for you to go home... from an outsiders perspective that sounds so crazy

So you can report at 6 am, drive for 3 hours until 9 am, have a 6 hour swing where you're paid for half that time, drive for another 3 hours, clearing at 6pm. That's 12 hours of your day, you only really worked for 6 of those hours, and you're paid for 9? I'm probably missing something but that's different lol 

1 minute ago, SevenEleven said:

To add on to what @Moody said, don't pick straight up for money or days off unless you have to. Because that run with Friday Saturday or Sunday Monday off didn't get picked for a reason. That 10-11 hr run didn't get picked for a reason. There's a reason why it's available to pick. 

Last pick, I had a straight run on the S40. 1pm-12am, school piece, 2 swings. Paid 1130 with Friday Saturday off. It wasn't the worse run in the world but I would not pick it again. Like at all. I could had made the same amount of money doing less work.

What are some reasons why those runs wouldn't get picked? 

And for your 1p-12a run, why wouldn't you pick it again? 

Lastly, swing time ... is that just time you're chilling in the depot? I assume you're still paid for that time but what do you do during your swing? How come you had two?

Guys again, thank you for the responses

And @lornaevo it def makes sense to only to do minimum until you're off probation, secure the job, have as lil driving time as possible. I've read somewhere here a guy saved all his time off time and took the last week of probation off which was smart

Is there a way to "research" the different depots? I understand its possible to be thrown any and everywhere but for the off chance that we're able to pick which depot we'd like to work out of, how can we research the different ones? 

Besides routes, I'm sure each have their own type of culture and the leaders have a different leadership style, if possible and without losing anonymity, are you guys who are on the job able to speak a lil on this? 

Thank you guys for your responses highly appreciated. Last off topic question, and this doesn't just apply to bus operator but the TA in general

How are guys able to damn near double their base salary? I go on seethruny and guys making $34 an hour which is a $71k base, but end up making lets say $130k 

I understand night differential and lets say they make another $1 for driving an articulated bus, that's still nowhere near $60k extra. Are some guys working 60-70 hours a week? 

I see dispatchers at $95k salary but bringing in $180k, thats crazy

Yes sorry, I took RDO as "random day off", I assume AVA is what I meant. Basically vacation days that can be used individually 1 or 2 days at a time.

A few weeks ago I was in Colombia and met a train operator who said he uses his "RDO days" to travel, so I assume he adds a vacation day to his days off and does that

I understand first year you're given a weeks worth of vacation time. Are AVA days in addition to the 5 vacation days? If so, how many are you given per year?

And @lornaevo , how often are you allowed to do something like that?

Lets say you randomly want to take a short trip to Mexico next month, your off days are Monday and Tuesday, is a month's notice too short to request an AVA for that Wednesday? Or are AVAs already picked ahead of time for the year?

And thanks guys for your responses, highly appreciated

Not employment related but how often are your off days going to be back2back? Monday-Tuesday, Friday-Saturday, Sunday-Monday, etc?

Is it possible to use RDO days right before or after your off days to make a 3 day off scenario? 

Probably won't get an answer to this but does anyone know the sensitivity of the drug screens? 50 ng/ml? 5 mg/nl? 

And which company is used to handle the drug screening?