jaydubs36

I know this is off topic but this is a random thoughts thread, I plan to pick out of GH this upcoming general and go to KB. Anyone knows which are the better lines and the ones to avoid. I've only been at GH.

Yes, thanks for the suggestion Snowblock. I will ask for some study materials. But I know there are classes given. Does anyone know where and who to ask?

And yes I know i misspelled the topic, typing fast. LOL.

Ok, I have a question. I'm aware of the upcoming promotion to surface dispatcher exam 4700 which filing starts on July 10th. How does one study and prepare for this test. I have the Passbook "Surface Line Dispatcher" by National Learning Corporation, but I don’t believe the information is relevant. I spoke to a MaBSTOA Dispatcher today and was told the book is a waste of time. You need to know formulas, memorandums, how to calculate pay, etc. So I ask the question again, how can I obtain this information? Are there classes? And if so how can I sign up?

I would appreciate anyone who can help.

Thanks jaydubs it was a long 7 days lol, I report to zerega tomorrow to get hybrid training. So how's everything going with you at your depot bro.

Hey Gun Hill is cool. Routes are cool for the most part, even though this is the end of week 3 for line training and i haven't did every route yet. I start artic training tomorrow, looking forward to that...I guess. Just waiting for graduation and finally being on my own and making a wrong turn along my route. LOL.

Congrats transit bx!!!!

Thanks for the tip, the plague, well that sounds pretty bad. i'll make sure to stay away from that. yeah i did get an answer, I sent u a message.

Now i do believe that there were some people in my class from a different exam but not many. Most came from the 8006 exam. And regarding the other class I'm not sure but I would assume that most of them are from 8006 also.

Thanks man, yeah I was excited knowing I was able to pick Gun Hill, looking forward to the start of hopefully a good career. There are 37 that qualified. There is another class that started this Monday.

Cool, great that u guys had good day 1's, and thanks for the info between West farms and Gun Hill, I picked Gun Hill and start line training tomorrow. I was checking the bus map, the routes out of gun hill definitely seem better than west farm. It seems that I made the right choice! AWESOME!!

Yeah I wasn't ready for day 7 due to the curbs I hit on day 5 and 6, but I qualified. I Should find out what depot I'm going to tomorrow and start line training on by friday. Does anyone know anything about Gun Hill or West Farms depots?

Thanks man! Its been a long process, I never went through anything like this for a job before, but hopefully the last process I have to go through. And yeah I did have to wait until day 9 to qualify, the instructor thought that an extra day of training would be good since I hit a curb on both day 5 and 6. You must always use those mirrors. But I'm freakin' excited. The hold thing from the time I got the notice in the mail to now has been so crazy that when the instructor said that he is going to qualify me It really took time for it to all sink in.

It wasn't too difficult but I was very nervous the hold time. As long as you use all the things you learned over the days you should be okay. Slow is the key, especially in Manhattan. Just have to watch those curbs, make sure you cover your right and my instructor big thing was forward planing. But I'm so happy everything went well. I have to be back a on Monday, I'm hoping for a depot in the Bronx since I do drive down from Poughkeepsie.

Do u start on Monday straker?

Yes I did, Thank God!!

Well day 5 was OK besides hitting a curb on 81st and Central Park West coming out of the park and making a left today when I had a real brain cramp and hit a curb while making a right turn on 3rd ave and 24th st. I made all the hard turns correct like the acute left at Union Sq and others. The instructor said the ride was good, I just had a brain fart. I think I'll be good for day 7 tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Yeah Locomotion69 they have 2 of those simulators at Zerega. They are pretty good, and 100,000 sounds about right, they look expensive.

Everyone is doing well, like I said in a previous post, I gotta get my parallel parking down better but so far so good. Yes we do ALSAPS everyday and the inspection inside and out. I actually have been studying all the air break checks and tests today. I believe I'm ready to show them that I can drive the bus the next 2 days.

No only twice, on day 2 and day 3. The first day is just basic maneuvers like turns and the 2nd day is just getting the feel for the el pillars.

LOL, they have this Virtual Reality simulator at Zerega. They put you in a Bus Operator seat with all the controls, steering wheel, break, accelerator, etc and there is a screen that shows a 360 degree view of a virtual street where you can drive the virtual bus. There is traffic, pedestrians just like the real thing. I really didn't like it though and one of the other trainees got a little sick from it. It doest help with the El pillars though.

Thanks RTS4Life for the help, the instructor says my problem is that I'm going too far out on my 45 degree turn, so when I start to back up I'm already to close to the curb so when I bring in the bus I hit it. He gave me three chances at first and I hit the curb all 3 times. He gave me another chance after everyone else and I got it right that time. That seems like what I have the most difficulity with. What should I expect tomorrow for day 5?

I was nervous also, once u get used to the bus the nerves start to ease and u start to feel more confident. And they don't give u a break if u have your CDL. U don't have to take the road test, obviously, but u still have to get 19-A certified with the MTA. You will do a similar road test with your instructor so u can be certified. We did the El pillars yesterday in the Bronx under the 2 and 5 trains. They have u practice first on the simulator the day before. It is tight but if u USE your mirrors and don't pass the pivot point on your rear tire you're good. If u listen to your instructor, u shouldn't have to tough of a time.

Actually the instructor does help with the positioning of the mirror. At first it did seem nerve wrecking but the more u drive the bus the more comfortable u feel. You just must always look in all three mirrors constantly and cover your right side. My dad use to drive a bus for the TA a while back and he told me after awhile you'll be whipping the bus around like its a car. Congrats on passing your road test. I want to just get pass day 7 and pass the road test, after that hopefully i wont have to do another job search for the rest of my career.

Finished day 4 of training and so far so good. I like to thank Noflexdont and RTS4Life for the curb and right angle technique, it did work and came in handy. No hitting the curb. Had a little problem parallel parking yesterday, but got it right on the last try. Did right and left turns, hook turns and wrap-arounds. I believe by Wednesday I'll be ready to advance to line training. My group have been driving in Manhattan since the beginning so day 5 and 6 shouldn't be a shock and go smoothly. Again I would like to thank everyone who added to this thread, It really helps in what to expect.:tup:

Yeah, when I took the exam, the starting salary was listed at $18.8450 per hour to $26.9200 after 3 years. Thanks RTS! And I know the MTA does not give u an uniform allowance or do they? What does the uniform consist of?

You're the second person Olegkha that said not to work overtime on probation. I will listen to your warning. Even though the xtra cash would be tempting, I will take ur guys advice. Hey trust me I wouldn't be taking much OT anyway, until I can get a place closer to the city I have to travel back and forth from Duchess county.

I do have another question regarding schedules, of course when and if I do pass training, what kind of schedule show I expect? I mean do you bump from depot to depot while being a newbie or would I be assigned to only one. Also is it possible to do a shift during the day and the next at night or vise versa? They have to leave some time in between shifts.