SoSpectacular

1. Your current time served during your probation carries over 2. TA allows you to work in ANY of the five boroughs, although Queens and Staten Island are under ATU 1056 and 726 respectfully. Transferring to either of those two boroughs will lock you in there for your entire career, with Queens being the more severe choice as you are stuck to ONE depot (Jamaica, Queens Village or Casey Stengel). Once the transfer is complete, that's it. You are freely able to transfer between the Manhattan. Bronx and Brooklyn depots freely every year under TA. 3. Only real benefit is the fact that you will be under the NYCERS pension system with TA. That's about it really.

The operator window is also an emergency exit on some buses, simply pull the latch up and swing the window out

Also keep in mind that the 18-month period is only the cutoff for when the points can be applied to future infractions. The points still remain on your abstract until the 4th year (falls off in January) after the conviction date.

Yes you'll have to take the road test/pre-trip again in the respective vehicle to get the endorsement.

The training assumes you already have some understanding of driving a commercial vehicle, so it is more of a way of training you to drive the way Zerega wants you to drive.

That's why I can't take any of them serious.

Do keep in mind that the people who manage the Twitter accounts for Transit are not the same people who sit/work at the command center. They still have to get that information whenever its requested. Dispatch could do a better job at relaying this information ahead of time, however... Ghost buses are here and there. Usually there's no way of knowing you have a ghost bus upon pullout because there's no way to see if the onboard Clever Devices computer is online with a good GPS signal. We usually do find out once we start a trip and the announcment system isn't playing/showing stops and the bus stops with countdown timers don't update when your bus gets near. It isn't a safety critical defect so the bus remains in service. It will just look like there's a gap in service on BusTime. And yes, operators pulling extra service will also ghost because they are not logged in to the farebox with the correct run/route numbers (because they aren't assigned to that line), they just throw the sign up and go into service. I've done it before when I covered trips after finishing my run.

Mind you, yes there are open runs/trips on the daily still and I see new students in every week it seems. Those who are done for the day or going on break can be asked to provide extra service but they are not obligated to. Not everyone wants to spend any extra time behind the wheel, epseically if they have to come back in the next day. Keep in mind that there are regulations as to how much we are allowed to drive daily/spend behind the wheel and the required 8 hours off between shifts. Dispatch also has to take precauton in readjusting buses that are late, but after a certain time in the day there aren't many "eyes" keeping up with the system. Also, the Q64 is a pretty short line. Few drivers making many repeat trips. What probably happened was one of the buses ran behind and their follower was basically riding their coat tails. Traffic is also a big issue in buses being able to stay on time. As the roads are continually reconfigured for less car traffic, the decreased space isn't sufficient for current day traffic. Unfortunately the intended effect of making people drive less doesn't seem to be working... NYC drivers are pretty stubborn when it comes to personal vehicles... Resilient too. I stopped driving in to work most days because of it.

Only if the announcement is incorrect do we need to correct it

When you pick into another depot you will ride the lines to learn them before you are left to your own devices. You'll swipe your pass and have a sheet that you'll sign and the operator you rode with will also sign this sheet, that's how you get paid. (I've done this for operators who rode lines with me). the depot chairman (or any union rep) will/should give you a depot tour and what the general routine is

The process for even working those lifts is convoluted as f--k! They show us the videos at Zerega all the damn time during first line of defense and I cannot

Both Staten Island and Queens are under the ATU, which follow a different set of rules when it comes to seniority and all that. Staten Island's seniority is borough-wide meaning you can transfer between the depots each year and you carry your seniority with you. Queens goes by depot seniority and there are no system/general picks. You are stuck in the depot that you choose for your whole career. Picking into either Queens or SI is a one-way ticket and you can not reverse your decision. If you are forced into either of those two boroughs you have the option of picking out, which is also a one-way deal.

Yes, as long as they are black, have non-slip or slip resistant soles they will pass. I used work shoes at the beginning but have transitioned to sneaker boots like the Nike Manoa

When I was in training there I always took the bus, the Q59 doesn't take very long.

We can use the farebox to change the destination sign, correct They've actually been testing the new radio/interface on some Staten Island buses- they need to get them ready for the whole fleet before they can do away with the fareboxes for good Other than the usual messages, no. All we have are the sounds of the transponders. The screen just says GO if the tag is successful and TAP AGAIN/CARD NOT ACCEPTED if it doesn't work We can't control them, they activate when the bus is put into revenue service (meaning a valid destination code) and are deactivated when we go NOT IN SERVICE.

Currently we log in through the fareboxes

Also, 233-236 are now at College Point

There is no space for open strollers on a bus that already has much more limited space compared to their high-floored predecessors... You didn't see people trying that when we still had buses like the RTS and Orion V around...

When these detours are made they usually have someone from road control survey the area to determine the best possible course without getting the buses stuck. Looks like that was the best they could reasonably come up with although strange...

With MTA you'll do the road test on a specifically designed route out of Eastchester depot. Because most of the buses are out during the day the depot grounds are also used for the skills test training for those with permits that qualify during initial training. Depending on how quickly you qualify you will generally get about a few days to a week to brush up on any maneuvers involving the bus (parallel parking/offset backing/pre-trip inspection) before your road test date that gets scheduled for you once you show proof of the fee being paid. You can practice as many times as you need each of the things you'll have to demonstrate to the DMV official who will administer your skills/road test. It beats paying for lessons at a driving school since you'll be spending 8 hours each day at ECH for training up until your road test. Make the best of it.

All work is picked based on seniority. The higher you stand, the better chance of you picking a run or any other piece of work that you find desirable. I suggest reading the New Hire FAQ post that was written by @SevenEleven for the types of work you can choose from. There's the extra list (basically a "spare" driver in loosely derived terms), straight runs (if you just want to work a set schedule with no variations), work runs (similar to picking a straight run but you're working the runs whose days off fall on the weekdays plus two weekend runs that are automatically attached), and vacation relief (holding down the work of someone who is on vacation for that given week including their regular days off so they will vary throughout the pick)

Final processing is when you are officially hired and are given a date to start the 7-day training course. You will get your pass on orientation day. Your badge you receive after you have completed training and are finally ready to go off on your own (graduation).

As requested, here are the pre-trip inspection videos in full. Study them if you have a CDL permit!

Those videos can still be accessed... There's other ways to get them, I'll look into it for you guys.

You may get a choice, sometimes you may not. It all depends on what depots have availabilities and your standing amongst your classmates. Those who have lower list numbers/scored higher on the exams will get first dibs, in classes with mixed exams the previous exams will trump later ones.