DEE123

23 hours ago, Twin said:

Hello all!  New to the forum, any words on exam 3601? 

Im in the list for 3601 and I applied to MTA bus company and mabstoa in June. I just graduated last week.  I’m not trying to discourage you or anything, but it’s gonna take quite a while for them to call you. 
Even if they establish the list for 3601 in the next few days, it’s gonna take a while to get contacted for your drug test and medical date. All of my classmates  that are in TA were exams 2612 and 2613 with very good list numbers under 100. And now that the classes aren’t mostly filled with TA operators anymore, they’re mixed with bus company and mabstoa students that took the June exam, therefore resulting in limited capacity of processing TA students in each class, It’s safe to assume that we’re not gonna get called in to start processing for TA until sometime next year. I’m praying that I’m wrong, and they wind up calling us in less than a month from now because I want to leave queens ASAP. 
In the mean time you should apply for the MABSTOA and the MTA bus company exam now. It’s free, and if you happen to get called by one of those agencies first, you get to start the whole process early. Your probation time Carries over to TA when they finally do call you, and you won’t need to do the initial day 1-7 training again. All you will need to do is go in for orientation day and fill out paperwork. 

On 10/22/2023 at 2:35 PM, Moorelow said:

I also took this exam 4111. On 9/19 no word yet with any results.

Email ExamsUnit@nyct.com 

1 hour ago, Harlem said:

Sounds easy. So will you switch to OA? I didn’t sign up for the Bus Company so i guess it’ll be a long wait. Which depot is nearest for you?

I’m switching over to OA. Im close to all the Bronx depots, gunhill is walking distance from me and I already know approx 70% of the routes. It would be sweet if I make it there. 

On 10/14/2023 at 9:27 PM, Harlem said:

 

Will you have to do the whole process over? 

So I got some intel, if MTA Bus Calls you first and you take it, but you want mabstoa instead, you can do the 7-10 day initial training with bus company, get your license, start line training. assuming you don’t get into any incidents, you should be ok to transfer over and all you’re gonna need is line training for your new depot. 

16 hours ago, Harlem said:

No updates yet. I took the exam after you- 4111. Still haven’t got score yet. Nada. I was also called for train operator and should have gone in for that. It seems like they’ve slowed down. I would prefer bus operator over train operator because the depots are closer and as a train operator you spend a lot of time commuting. 

Will you have to do the whole process over? 

I don’t know. Probably which is fine with me. 

On 10/3/2023 at 6:46 PM, Harlem said:

Has anyone been hired from this exam recently. I took the exam and am still waiting for the score. Some people say get your CDL first, others say wait and let transit pay for it. 

Any update? I go in Monday for proccessing

43 minutes ago, Harlem said:

Thanks DEE. That helps a lot. Are you only able to transfer depots once a year? It would be difficult to commute to Queens or Brooklyn regularly. Seems like an interesting job but not if the commute will be a couple hours each way. 

I don’t know how transfers works but hopefully you get something close by. 

23 hours ago, Harlem said:

Congratulations on the CDL! Thanks for the info I agree with your analysis. It seems easier to get the CDL through the MTA. Do you know if they are still calling people quickly from the MABSTOA exam? I have to choose between TO and BO. Took the OA exam in September but haven't heard anything yet.

Yes. A lot of my classmates are mabstoa from the recent exam only issue is they’re being forced to work at fresh pond and East NY as they’re insanely short right now. I have no idea why how or what’s going on with them but yeah I can see you getting called in the next 90 days or so. 

On 10/3/2023 at 6:46 PM, Harlem said:

Has anyone been hired from this exam recently. I took the exam and am still waiting for the score. Some people say get your CDL first, others say wait and let transit pay for it. 

I got my CDL B today from MTA. Before getting the job, I paid $5,000 for CDL School for my CDL A but MTA called very fast, and I wasn’t able to finish on time. I am going to get my A license another time, but the MTA CDL school in the eastchester depot is excellent compared to the private driving schools, It’s not comparable. You’ll have a lot more time behind the wheel performing your backing maneuvers than you would at a traditional CDL School where there’s like 40 people waiting in line and just standing around doing the “pre trip” on an old and broken bus that isn’t even equipped with the parts that you’re supposed to be inspecting . Out of the whole day, you would probably have 30 minutes behind the wheel and the instructors don’t  help much. That’s how most private schools are laid out. The MTA instructors have a very high Passing rate. You would have to do something outrageously crazy to not get your License, or get kicked out and told to resign. I highly recommend using the MTA to get your license. 

One more thing I would like to add is people that were already licensed school bus drivers, and tractor trailer drivers had a rough time transitioning to this job.
 

Your best bet is to go in day one with zero bus knowledge because so many school bus/ Truck drivers either didn’t make initial day 10 or had difficulty qualifying because of bad programming not even necessarily because they were bad drivers, it’s because nearly everything is different on these buses compared to all commercial vehicles. There is nothing like driving a NYC MTA bus even compared to other transit buses in the country. Literally you’ll need 100% control of how soft or hard to put your foot on the accelerator and brake. The second you put your foot on the accelerator without 100% control, the bus can jump to like 10 MPH almost instantly and then you can’t suddenly take your foot off the accelerator or else the retarder kicks in and now your instructor and classmates, or passengers standing can lose balance and fall right to the front of the bus. 

Just now, DEE123 said:

Where did the 2,314 extra candidates magically appear from? 

Error I mean 3318. Where did the 3,318 extra candidates magically appear from?

On 10/1/2023 at 3:03 PM, John D said:

actually theirs 3617 candidates for 2613 https://a860-gpp.nyc.gov/concern/nyc_government_publications/1g05ff645?locale=en

Where did the 2,314 extra candidates magically appear from? 

On 9/26/2023 at 6:46 PM, Basemac7 said:

Update guys, I was medically cleared today. I go in tomorrow for a 3rd drug test. I filled out the paperwork for tomorrow and have a fast pass for tomorrow. 

When is the next class

5 hours ago, Calvin said:

3531: JFK retired to scrap for ECH. 

Is that the SBS bus I saw today? 
I saw what appeared to be a new SBS bus in the yard 

3 hours ago, lornaevo said:

Anyone here training in college point/whitestone area today?

All b/o’s hired in my class 9/10 were in Zerega today. They start line training tomorrow. All Bus Company operators are going to JFK, Far Rockaway, or Spring Creek. There was also no availability for Queens for the new TA operators either. They all got sent to Brooklyn or Staten Island and have to wait for next pick. 

16 minutes ago, lornaevo said:

 Not to mention they are still recovering from the hiring freeze during COVID. 

Yeah exactly. 

On 9/24/2023 at 9:19 PM, Harlem said:

I've lived in NYC much of my life and ride buses regularly but I can't figure out why bus operator is such a difficult position to fill. Before the test the examiner at 180 Livingston told us they were hiring 800 bus operators. That's a very high number. Can someone explain why this position is so hard to fill. Is it the hours? Is it the pay? Or, is it the stress of the job? I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into. Thanks. 

I want to add that You’re just getting on the job at the right time. It’s not always gonna be easy like this. Like a month ago, I was looking at posts on this website on forums from 2010-2013 where NYCT bus operators were laid off because there was no need for them, and either they started fresh at bus company depots, or were at home and possibly didn’t get re hired. I can’t find the exact forum location, but it was on this website. I also saw NYCT bus operator exams from around 2017 where there were about 5,000 people on the list and it took like 2-3 years for people that got 90% on the exam to get called. You just happened to be coming at an opportunity where the MTA is extremely short of operators.
Yeah the job can suck at times, but what other job doesn’t even require high school diploma and still pays you 100k a year? I don’t have any college, or any type of valuable experience, a job like this is a life saver for people like me coming from 10 years of minimum wage jobs where I made no more than 50k a year. 

On 9/24/2023 at 9:19 PM, Harlem said:

I've lived in NYC much of my life and ride buses regularly but I can't figure out why bus operator is such a difficult position to fill. Before the test the examiner at 180 Livingston told us they were hiring 800 bus operators. That's a very high number. Can someone explain why this position is so hard to fill. Is it the hours? Is it the pay? Or, is it the stress of the job? I'd like to know what I'm getting myself into. Thanks. 

A lot of people are retiring or getting promoted. 

I got an email on Monday night to process my application and drug test for 4104 for this Monday the 25th at 6:30AM, but was already hired off that list and i'm currently doing training in Zerega. Yesterday I got a letter in the mail stating my list number for exam 4311. I was calling both the numbers all week and sending emails because I was confused, and no answer, did anybody else get an email to show up for exam 4104? or did MTA finish that list and they're on 4311? I'm hoping it wasn't an accident because I must go to work Monday and I cannot make it.

1 hour ago, Frenchie said:

@DEE123 Alright, thanks a lot for the responses and valuable info! If you don't mind, I have a few further questions. Is the test timed? If so, is it a reasonable allotted amount of time or would I have to really make sure I'm pacing myself through the questions?

Yes I think it’s 2 hours and 30 minutes to answer 60 multiple choice questions. 
After the memory portion in the beginning, be very thorough and double check before you answer each question. At no point should you be unsure before answering the questions. The answer is right on the question. They just want to see how good you are in identifying the problems and solving it. I don’t know how anybody can score under 80 unless they just don’t care much. Take your time. The answer is going to be there. I took 2 bus operator exams and got 96 on both of them. It’s really pattern recognition and finding the riddles in a sense. I don’t know how to explain it. 
 

1 hour ago, chrisarmand69 said:

As a student that passed the Eastchester training and got the cdl today, this trainingwill have you lose sleep. The 10 day trainingwas tough, even for thos who came in with their cdl license. My superintendentwas firm but fair. Then on to eastchesterto train and study the book for pre trip. It'sbeen a long journeybut the rewards will be great.

I’m glad to hear you took the job. I’m referring to your posts from last month when you had trouble with the process 

15 minutes ago, Romeo Bennett said:

I got called for pre-employment processing. I go to 180 Livingston Tomorrow the 21st. Does anyone know how to fill out the All Agency Outside Activity Approval Request form ? I know part of the form has to be filled out by my employer but my supervisor never answers his phone. Thanks in advance for the help. 

If I’m not mistaken, if it is the 2nd to last page where it says for a supervisor to sign is the MTA HR supervisor, not yours.  Your employer doesn’t need to fill anything out on that form. 

19 hours ago, Knighthawk said:

@DEE123 cool thanks for the information brother I just wanted to share the information with forum is there any more advice you could give 

When you get assigned a superintendent for training, listen to everything he tells you 100% and correct the mistakes you made sooner than later. Your experience doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you already drove a bus for NJ Transit or were a tractor trailer operator for the military. None of this means anything and they will fail you without hesitation and tell you to resign so don’t go in cocky regardless of history of commercial driving experience. Luckily I came in with no experience which is better because I didn’t have bad habits I had to break. You need to operate the bus exactly how MTA wants you to operate it, drive slow and smooth enough so you have enough time to ANTICIPATE and FORWARD PLAN a block ahead. You might mess up in some areas and they’re gonna write it on your paperwork. It’s not for you to have bad feelings about, just learn from your mistake and make sure it doesn’t happen twice.
You are also going to get a textbook with all 7 days broken down. Every morning I recommend going to the depot about 90 minutes early each day and studying ALSAPS, Pre Trip, reading over what you have to do that day, and reviewing all notes from the days prior that the instructor gave you.

If you follow this advice, Once you hit days 5,6,7, you wouldn’t have any issues, at most the instructor will fine tune small things that need to be changed.  You just need make sure to listen to the instructors, and apply everything they’re telling you verbatim, The system works. 
 

19 hours ago, Harlem said:

Thanks for this info DEE. I didn’t know it was that easy to change to TA. Are you training with Mabstoa now? If so have they mentioned the depot you most likely will end up in? Is it possible to choose Manhattanville after you finish training? Thanks.

I’m not mabatoa, but i’m in the training class with people from mabstoa, and they still don’t know where they’re going to go yet. Maybe some time after you qualify, you’re gonna be able to pick in order and if they have space they might try to accommodate you im not sure how it works. 

5 hours ago, Knighthawk said:

Got my exam score in the mail today for exam 2614 78% list number # 3** do you guys know when there going start getting to the list numbers 

I answered your question I forgot to press reply. Look at the post before this one. 

I’m in Zerega doing training right now while waiting for 3601 to call me. I know I got a high score on my exam, but I’m not expecting a call until early next year as people are being processed from Mabstoa and Bus Company, each class can only hold a certain amount of people.

People from NYCTA that I’m training with are exam 2612 with low list numbers under 150. I recommend you take the mabstoa/Bus Company exam now, so by the time you get called by TA, your training would be finished. If you’re in Mabstoa, when TA calls you’ll probably even wind up staying in that same exact depot, Just with a new ID and your probation time will carry over. 

also You should not post your whole List number for security reasons. that’s why you see People usually put a star or # in the last digit or 2 such as  3** or 30* 3## or 30#

20 hours ago, Frenchie said:

Yes @+Young+ thank you for that NYPD test prep kit. I seen it in this forum as I was looking through before I created an account here.

And yes, as for the memorization section of the test.. I would not mind receiving some help on that.. whatever you can offer I'd greatly appreciate that.

And, my apologies I will familiarize myself with the guidelines. My exam is #4111 for MaBSTOA. I'll be testing this week.

 

And thanks for this forum! It's definitely a life saver lol.

Other than the memorization portion. most of the questions are just reading comprehension or trying to match a picture, other questions require you to read the question multiple times until you can find the right answer. Just take your time and be thorough, and understand what they are asking and you’ll be fine. 

21 hours ago, Frenchie said:

How do they test you on the ear and eye exam?

Is the eye exam simply reading something pretty far away? 

Does it involve a color test... testing if you're color blind?

And if one wears glasses, are they allowed to do the eye exam with glasses on or without?

Hopefully, I'm allowed to ask these questions. I am new to the forum.. pardon me if I break any rules unknowingly. 

Yes you look inside the microscope and they test color blindness right after your vision exam. They did it with me last month. There is a bunch of pictures with numbers inside and they are different colors. You have to call out the number inside of the picture. 
 

For the ear exam they check inside your ear, and then put you in a small silent room with headphones, then they play sounds. You have to click a button each time you hear the sound. 

good luck