Current transit workers answer only please

[Blatherskite]

Knowing what you now know about Transit, would you go back and take the job again, or do something else? Do you love it? Hate it? Just see it as a way to pay your bills?

[KNIGHTRIDER3:16]

I wanna be starsky & hutch but of course the bills must get paid cuz aint nobody in transit gonna say ,(H)ey I wanna work for free and you could still use that (V)asaline

I do like pushing A beast though

[SpikeMauler]

As far as Civil service jobs I would take Nassau/Suffolk P.O. ,Sanitation, FDNY, and MTA BTO over my current title. That being said ,I like my job and would have no problem doing it again if my other choices didn't work out.

[DevilBus65]

Well after 23 years in buses,and even more time when I was swimming around in my old man's balls, I have found a home in the Bus Command Center. Strangely enough though most of my co workers hate it here,I love it. That being said I did enjoy the 21 years I drove too,even though the day before my Dad said he would get me the application,I never ever thought of being in this industry.

[Hawk Operator]

Never would have joined transit, maybe way back in the 70 and 80s, but the last twenty years the job has gone down hill.

[cdi919]

i would have stayed and did 20 years in the service.

[jmazz77]

I haven't been with transit very long at all & I can honestly say if I had an opportunity to do something else with the same pay & benefits, I would jump on it in a heartbeat. Being a B/O, imo, sux. When you drive safely, at least with the schedule I have, you are stuck in that seat for 5 1/2 hrs straight everyday.(meaning always late and loose your recovery time) It's hard on your back and knees b/c the seats and ride of the buses is horrible.

Dealing with the public, is 50/50. Good days and bad days. I'm only on the job 6 months, and I've had 2 fights on my buses in the past two months. Had to call them in so now I have 2 incidents/accidents on my record. Not good for a probie.

 

I also recently found out that b/c I am OA and not TA, I cant even become a dispatcher if i wanted to in the future b/c I am not civil service. I cant see myself in the "seat" for the next 25yrs of my life.. So I'm faced with either leaving and doing something else b4 it is too late, or wait for the next TA test, (who knows when that will be), take it and if/when I called for TA, switch over and lose my seniority. Considering that wont happen for 3-5 yrs most likely, who wants to lose 5yrs seniority? So, I'm searching for options..

 

I cant operate a train b/c I am colorblind/color deficiency.. I would consider track work, but who knows when those tests will come around again either.. And I would consider Bus Maintainer but I would need 3yrs on the job experience b4 I could get hired, when ever they hire again.

 

So I would say my time with transit is limited. But that's just me.

[Will-Bx-718]

As far as Civil service jobs I would take Nassau/Suffolk P.O. ,Sanitation, FDNY, and MTA BTO over my current title. That being said ,I like my job and would have no problem doing it again if my other choices didn't work out.

 

Yeah I feel that same exact way. I should have taken the nyc corrections exam, I took the suffolk CO police exam, but the list is ridiculous for that job. I scored an 88 but have a list number of 10000. People scored 130's if they had military time or family members on the force, or had family members that died while on duty, you got extra points. With what the TA is trying to pull now If I could go back to dec of 2004 I would have not sent my $35 in for the S/A exam and used it for another civil service exam. But don't get me wrong the job did help take care of me and my family. And gave me opportunities I would have not had if I did not have the job. And it allowed me to save alot of money over the years that I've been down, and it also taught me how to manage my money much better than I did in the past.

[Olegkha]

Jmazz how did you end up staying in UP for this pick, if you on the job for only 6 month ?

[Pelham Bay Dave]

I do like my job there is nothing I would have done diffrent if I had to do it over again. I liked it when I was a Conductor and now I enjoy operating a train. It has its moments where I hate it but what job doesn't. Even with all the Bs coming from Management and the Union I could not see myself do anything else.

[Rapid Transit TO]

I would take the job again, but in retrospect, I should have come on as c/r 6 years prior.

I didn't think my commute was worth the cash/bennies back then, but now, I advise start asap, get the pension clock running..

I like my job, where else can I get applause when I appear & single finger salutes all day?

[DevilBus65]

I've had 2 fights on my buses in the past two months. Had to call them in so now I have 2 incidents/accidents on my record. Not good for a probie.

 

I also recently found out that b/c I am OA and not TA, I cant even become a dispatcher if i wanted to in the future b/c I am not civil service.

 

If the fights didn't involve you how can that affect your record? As far as civil service requirement for being a dispatcher,there are plenty of O/A dispatchers up here in BCC,so I don't think that is right either. The month after the MTA Bus dispatchers test that I took,there was a MABSTOA test so don't give up quite yet.

[jmazz77]

If the fights didn't involve you how can that affect your record? As far as civil service requirement for being a dispatcher,there are plenty of O/A dispatchers up here in BCC,so I don't think that is right either. The month after the MTA Bus dispatchers test that I took,there was a MABSTOA test so don't give up quite yet.

 

They didnt involve me. Only passengers. But I was told by another dispatcher, that "incidents" are considered the same as "accidents" and held against you.

 

That is good news about the dispatcher position and thanks for letting me know. I was really bummed out and discouraged when he told me that.

 

As for the incidents, I guess I'll find out at my next review/eval.

[jmazz77]

Jmazz how did you end up staying in UP for this pick, if you on the job for only 6 month ?

 

If you mean the general that started April, luck I guess.. lol I know there was just enough runs for everyone in the depot. I picked 3rd from last, and when I picked there were 3 runs left.

 

For the consolidated pick we are doing now, I am 99% sure I will get bumped out, if there are no layoffs. It would be great if I could get into Gleason b/c I live close by, but from what I hear I doubt that will happen too. Been told by quite a few drivers, Ulmer Park, Gleason and Quill are the first ones to close out. I pick the last day.

[Zman]

They didnt involve me. Only passengers. But I was told by another dispatcher, that "incidents" are considered the same as "accidents" and held against you.

 

That is good news about the dispatcher position and thanks for letting me know. I was really bummed out and discouraged when he told me that.

 

That dispatcher was just trying to scare you. A fight between two passengers, that did not involve you in any way and involves police intervention, cannot in any way, shape, or form be used against you. Yes it is considered an incident, but it will be graded as an incident without fault, which is ok. The only things that can be used against you are rule violations and/or incidents in which you are at fault. A passenger fight could only be used against you if you failed to call it in and the TA got wind of it.

[Andrew]

I was a Supermarket merchandiser for 22 years.I worked many 12-16 hour days on my feet being a set up man.Supermarket work is very hard and I was not in a union so I got shit pay.The Managers were scumbags as well.

 

My dream was to operate a train and I am finally doing it.I am still in schoolcar (last day of class is JUNE 30)but I would do it all over again if I had to.Oh sure,there are man things I DONT like about the MTA but overall it is 1000 times better than the Supermarket industry.Believe me when I tell you.As bad as some of you think this place is,it does not even compare to some jobs in the private industry.I saw shit 20 years ago that still bothers me to this very day.

 

I am in no way trying to say the MTA is a utopia.not a all.this place has its problems.some of them major ones.But again,when I compare the 2 places,this place is hands down much better to work for.

 

When I am operating a train..all is right with the world.

[Jah]

I was a Supermarket merchandiser for 22 years.I worked many 12-16 hour days on my feet being a set up man.Supermarket work is very hard and I was not in a union so I got shit pay.The Managers were scumbags as well.

 

My dream was to operate a train and I am finally doing it.I am still in schoolcar (last day of class is JUNE 30)but I would do it all over again if I had to.Oh sure,there are man things I DONT like about the MTA but overall it is 1000 times better than the Supermarket industry.Believe me when I tell you.As bad as some of you think this place is,it does not even compare to some jobs in the private industry.I saw shit 20 years ago that still bothers me to this very day.

 

I am in no way trying to say the MTA is a utopia.not a all.this place has its problems.some of them major ones.But again,when I compare the 2 places,this place is hands down much better to work for.

 

When I am operating a train..all is right with the world.

 

My good friend and his brother both work in 2 different supermarkets and they each make way more money than me!

[Andrew]

They are probably store managers which is a very demanding job in itself.I worked for different private companies that did work in the stores,I never worked directly for the chain.

[rtype3995]

if i had to do it over, i probably would have taken the conductors job as soon as they had called.........but at that time i didnt feel it was worth the extra 50 cents to leave the token booth...but other than that, no.......im happy with where im at and hopefully i keep moving up the ladder and get promoted to something else.........