jmazz77 Posted January 21, 2011 Share #1 Posted January 21, 2011 Does anyone here know anyone that drives for Greyhound? I got an email inviting me to an interview next Tuesday. I am more than likely going to go check it out. I am just wondering if anyone can tell me what they usually start drivers at, pay wise..? What they pay per diem during training? And what type of medical insurance they offer and at what cost to the employee? If anyone has, or can get that info, I would greatly appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton Local Posted January 21, 2011 Share #2 Posted January 21, 2011 I got the same E-Mail but Im stuck over here in School in Phoenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BZGuy Posted January 21, 2011 Share #3 Posted January 21, 2011 Does anyone here know anyone that drives for Greyhound? I got an email inviting me to an interview next Tuesday. I am more than likely going to go check it out. I am just wondering if anyone can tell me what they usually start drivers at, pay wise..?What they pay per diem during training? And what type of medical insurance they offer and at what cost to the employee? If anyone has, or can get that info, I would greatly appreciate it. I think starting pay is somewhere around $15/HR. Don't quote me on that because they've gotten a new contract since I went to the info session 2 yrs ago. I think the training pay is $400/wk. I didn't ask about insurance,sorry. If selected they will send you to either Atlantic City or Richmond for training. You have to either have or be able to get a passport because you will see alot of Montreal. That's the first place they take you in route training and if you can't get into Canada they'll let you go. I can try and catch up with some friends at GLI and try and get some more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmazz77 Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share #4 Posted January 21, 2011 i could deal with the training pay and having my cdl and experience with the MTA maybe i could get through training a little quicker.. but starting pay would have to be better and insurance decent for me to take it and not go back to mta.. see what happens tuesday. I'll post back what the say. if you could dig up some info, that would be great. and thanks! i am curious how they work the layovers too.. like if you go to montreal, you obviously can't take a 30 min meal and head back... lol where do you sleep? and how much of that time are you compensated for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BZGuy Posted January 21, 2011 Share #5 Posted January 21, 2011 I believe you go to an actual hotel in Montreal. Some places you go to a greyhound dorm. I've heard bad and good about the dorms. Another thing is that they can keep you out for 3 days. You can stay out longer if you want but if you got a family I can see wanting to go home after 3 days out. Money can be made on the "extraboard". Its just a function of how flexible you are. I've been in GLI dispatch in NY and heard drivers whine about not wanting to do an overnight. Lots of people just want to do turns/ Last I heard NYC drivers went as far west as Pittsburgh/Cleveland, south Richmond/Fayetteville, north to Montreal and east to Bangor and everywhere in between. The Mt. Laurel commuter run GLI does has to be the worst run they have. The passengers are by far the rudest people I have ever dealt with. There are good and bad with "the Dog". Defiantly go to the info session and really talk to the instructors they have running it. They will give you the straight talk....no BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olegkha Posted January 21, 2011 Share #6 Posted January 21, 2011 Go to MJQ depot, and stand on the south east corner of the depot. then look west towards the entrance gate , there will be a small door in the middle , that is the entrance into Greyhound dorms. Maybe you can catch a driver and talk to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML111 Posted January 22, 2011 Share #7 Posted January 22, 2011 Does anyone here know anyone that drives for Greyhound? I got an email inviting me to an interview next Tuesday. I am more than likely going to go check it out. I am just wondering if anyone can tell me what they usually start drivers at, pay wise..?What they pay per diem during training? And what type of medical insurance they offer and at what cost to the employee? If anyone has, or can get that info, I would greatly appreciate it. Hopefully I can shed some light, as my background involves GLI (I used work for Bolt in supervision as an operations assistant)... Starting pay is what Jason said above, approx. $14-15 per diem for training. They will send you to Atlantic City for training (main facility for GLI in the NE and the base for all the east coast pools). First week involves classroom learning...the basics from CDL permit training, plus learning more about the differences in driving for intercity line and with the 'hound. You will be exposed to systems such as BOSS, CADEC and TRIPS. You will also receive log training and have a walk though of the 6-and-1 on the X....you are scheduled on duty 6 days with 9 hours of rest before driving on that cycle until your "OFF" day on the board. From there you go into road training before line. Basically you will be taught how to drive "the Greyhound way." During line, as Jason mentioned, you will be going within the NYD district, which is West to Cleveland, South to Richmond, North to Montreal and East to Boston (usually Boston sections hot-seat the Bangor segment). In terms of how the board works, it's best to give you an example of all the scenarios: Day 1 - Qualified to drive on hours, report to sit on board 0700 - Report 1020 - Receive BOSS Assignment to protect 1300 NY-BOS 1215 - Sign-ON to BOSS for protection 1300 - Protection Assigned and Active Schedule 1715 - Arrive BOS 1730 - Sign-OFF of BOSS for rest Day 2 0230 - Report 0600 - Receive DH Assignment to WRJ for allocation 0700 - DH with bus to WRJ 0920 - Arrive WRJ 0930 - End DH 0940 - Placed on "To and Towards Home Terminal" List on X-Board 1130 - Sign-Off of BOSS for rest 2030 - Report 2115 - Assigned DH Assignment to MTL for protection 2200 - DH with bus to MTL Day 3 0100 - Arrive MTL awaiting assignment 0130 - Sign-Off of BOSS for rest 1030 - Sign-On for protection assignment to NYD ("To and Towards") 1115 - Spot for MTL-NYD protection 1130 - Protection Assigned and Active Schedule 2100 - Arrive NYD 2130 - Sign-Off of BOSS for rest Day 4 1300 - Report 1900 - No Assignment - Paid X-Board Rate and relieved Day 5 0400 - Report 0530 - Assigned First Section NYD-PHL-ACY-NYD 0645 - Spot for NYD-PHL 0700 - Active Schedule 0910 - Arrive PHL 0920 - DH to PHL-Olney 1045 - Olney-PHL-Snyder-AC 1300 - Arrive AC 1400 - Spot at Ballys for NYD section 1430 - Ballys-ACY-NYD 1730 - Arrive NYD 1800 - Sign-Off BOSS for rest This is an example of a typical week for a driver (this is a 5/2 X-Board Assignment, however 6/1's are more prevalent). When sitting on the board, you get the lowest hourly rate. While driving, you get a rate dependent on the job or your hours of service vs. job differential (basically OT vs. reg time). Bolt is much different in terms of this structure...please feel free to PM me if you have any further questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmazz77 Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted January 22, 2011 Thanks a lot for the info. I really appreciate it. After talking about it with my wife, I don't think I am going to pursue Greyhound. Right now, I am away 5 days per week and home on the weekends, but if I needed to get home in case of an emergency, I can be home in 2hrs. Not really crazy about being away for 3-5days at a time.. Even though you might be able to make good money there, I don't it will be the same as MTA money. Once I get called back, in 2 1/2yrs I will be making $29/hr and be home every night. SO I'll just keep doing what I am doing and waiting for the call back.. Always looking for something better, but it's getting real tough to find anything that beats the pay & compensation from the MTA. They are begging me to come back to my old job permanently, which is where I am at now.. But I tell them match or even come close to what the MTA offers and I will consider. But they can't even come close. So, it is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locomotion69 Posted January 22, 2011 Share #9 Posted January 22, 2011 I don't know how they do it(Coach Bus drivers as well as OTR truckers). It's not only being away from home for awhile but the mileage driven(300-500 miles a day or night). My eyes would pop out of my head.Trying to stay awake can be a big problem. I can picture the B/O being more comfortable in the seat then in a MTA Bus, also their buses are newer and cleaner. You figure on an average local run a MTA B/O drives around 80-90 miles stop and go with a 20 minute meal break and a couple of 10 minute personals. jmazz77: I believe you will be making closer to $30.00 hr when you reach top pay in 2 1/2 years. I know the MTA appealed the final year raise of the contract but it will stand up in court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim66 Posted January 23, 2011 Share #10 Posted January 23, 2011 Thanks a lot for the info. I really appreciate it. After talking about it with my wife, I don't think I am going to pursue Greyhound. Right now, I am away 5 days per week and home on the weekends, but if I needed to get home in case of an emergency, I can be home in 2hrs. Not really crazy about being away for 3-5days at a time.. Even though you might be able to make good money there, I don't it will be the same as MTA money. Once I get called back, in 2 1/2yrs I will be making $29/hr and be home every night. SO I'll just keep doing what I am doing and waiting for the call back.. Always looking for something better, but it's getting real tough to find anything that beats the pay & compensation from the MTA. They are begging me to come back to my old job permanently, which is where I am at now.. But I tell them match or even come close to what the MTA offers and I will consider. But they can't even come close. So, it is what it is. hang in the jmazz good things are around the corner!!!!you'll be back in seat real soon!!!!:tup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donald Posted January 23, 2011 Share #11 Posted January 23, 2011 Not only will the MTA beat everyone else in pay, but don't forget about benefits. I'm sure Greyhound has less generous health insurance benefits and pension (assuming they have a pension and not a 401k). Talk to some of the private bus companies in the NYC area and they will all tell you that they constantly lose drivers to the MTA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locomotion69 Posted January 23, 2011 Share #12 Posted January 23, 2011 Greyhound has a pension plan(30 yrs to collect max benefit). I highly doubt that their senior B/O's make anywhere near what senior MTA B/O's make($85k yr including OT). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zman Posted January 23, 2011 Share #13 Posted January 23, 2011 I wonder how long it takes to get the seniority to pick a steady assignment. I've heard that the New York-Montreal run is pretty low seniority, which is funny because that would be the run that I would probably pick since I love going to Québec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML111 Posted January 23, 2011 Share #14 Posted January 23, 2011 That run is not low in seniority because of the destination, but rather because of the nature of the run itself. Montreal turns are all overnight runs with a 10-12 hour layover built in. Most senior drivers want to come home every night and work a 5-and-2 and not a 4-3 or 6-1 work cycle. The senior drivers almost always pick the following: NY-DC-NY NY-AC-PHL-NY NY-PHL-AC-NY NY-PHL-NY-PHL-NY NY-BOS-NY NY-SSP-NY NY-SYR-NY Those runs typically have the highest pay, best work cycles for days off and hours. In terms of how long it takes to get a steady assignment, it would probably take a good 7 years to get the chance to bid a relief run at GLI in NY and about another 5-7 after that to get a regular run. If you stick it out for the long haul, the gold mine which is weekends off comes after about 15-20 years in. In terms of Montreal though, those runs are usually placed on the extra board as work assigned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
553 Bridgeton Posted January 23, 2011 Share #15 Posted January 23, 2011 We had a guy that was working for Greyhound that came into transit not to long ago. He says Greyhound is terrible. He has a reg. pic on the 319 and the 553. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princejv26 Posted January 24, 2011 Share #16 Posted January 24, 2011 i currently work for greyhound and they can be good at times and they can suck, it depends on your mood. Greyhound will not match MTA's pay rate they will start you just like eveyone else and have to go through the bullshit just like eveyone else. Its a good job to have for the time being but not anything long term and no greyhound don't have any pension plans for new drivers, they have 401k, all the pensions are for the guys that been here for the past 20+ years. I am only working for Greyhound because the job market is scarce but there are other bus companies out there that will raise your pay rate pending on your work experience, there is Coach USA/Megabus. You also got PeterPan, Bolt and others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted February 5, 2011 Share #17 Posted February 5, 2011 I went through Greyhound's training program a little over a year ago and left shortly after. They send to school outside of Atlantic City, so if you think you'll be hitting up the board walk or playing black jack think again. The most you'll see of AC is practicing pulling into and backing out of bus slips at the Casino's. Even if you were right in Atlantic City, the schedule leaves little time for training and sleeping. You are Driver Training School (DTS) for 2 weeks, you arrive the Sun afternoon before training starts and leave (I forget if it is Sat or Sun) afternoon prepared to report to your home terminal the following Monday morning. Pay in training is $50 a day while you are training, you are off Sundays and it is not paid. That was a year ago, they just changed the rate for my class, I think it used to be 40 in AC and 80 at home??? I hope they revisited it because of a lot of us did complain saying $50 a day was not enough in NYC, it barely covered commuting costs (especially if you took the LIRR or NJ Transit) and food on the road. They give you Greyhound payment card and put you training pay on it weekly, on the first Tuesday or Wednesday they advance you 3-4 days pay. Breakfast is free at the Hotel and Greyhound covers lunch either a bagged lunch, a catering company comes into the class and serves a hot lunch (nothing to write home about) or they give you a WaWa gift card for lunch on days you are out on the road. You are to report to the bus bright and early every morning where they take you to the AC location where they have a class room/training center. The first two days they take you to an empty parking lot the first two days where you do all sorts of maneuvers around cones. Throughout the two weeks you will do various things like day and night driving, "mountain" driving through PA's Amish country, city driving, you will see Deleware and philly a lot as well driving through the Country is South NJ and PA. One day you practice tight turns, they send the training buses to philly and you and who ever is on the bus with you that day takes turns making lefts and rights around the ghetto, with people wondering what the F you are doing lol as you get experience making these tight turns on tight roads with cars illegally parked too close to the corner and cars stopped over the stop line and/or yellow line. One day is "endurance driving" where you spend all 10 hours driving (you get some breaks) but they test you to make sure you have the endurance to drive/work all day. They spend a lot of time going over logs with practice work in class, you have a log test by the end of the first week, if you fail it they send you home, but don't worry it's not that hard. You are also expected to keep a log from day one recording your classroom time as on duty time and driving time as applicable, the instructors check them daily. When driving interstate you are required to keep a log, by federal law and the trainers are VERY serious about it, as they should be. When you goof up on a log or go driving one of their buses without updating your log for a few days you make the entire company look bad. I your time there you also learn how to put chains on tires, everyone who goes through Greyhound puts chains on tires at least once, learn how to use a fire ext and put out cones. They are very serious about the pre-trip, you do it every morning, first you watch, then you do it as a group (whatever students are on the bus with you that day) the you must do it on your own. They test you on it, I forget when, but that is another big test of theirs, the pretrip. BUT they have a video set up in one of the hotel meeting rooms, so you can go in and watch it at anytime. At night there is at least 2-3 buses parked at the hotel, you can practice on the, just don't turn anything on lol they couldn't stress that enough. The last day is fun, you split into two teams and compete in challenges all day... When you get back to your home terminal you do route break in and cubbing. Route break in is where they put anywhere from 3-4 students on a bus with a trainer x however may people is in your class. You go out and take turns driving as the instructor teaches you how to get to destination xyz, hence the name route break in. You will either leave early and get home late or you stay in a hotel, what most people do is try to get on the bus with their roommate from DTS, if they get along, or friend they made in DTS for a little sense of normalcy, at least you are have the same roommate every night as opposed to getting used to a new classmates schedule and habits night after night. For route break in you will go to Montreal, Boston, Maine, DC, Upstate NY, Vermont, etc. etc. and the list goes on. For cubbing you (and usually another student) goes out with an instructor who holds down a regular run. You split the driving (you drive there, the other student drives back etc.)... Students who already have their CDL start this earlier and those who don't go out and practice a little more for the CDL road test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted February 5, 2011 Share #18 Posted February 5, 2011 Just remember with Greyhound it is not a job or a career it is your life!!!! I cannot stress that enough to anyone thinking about the Hound. You will not hold down a run for at least 3 years, and even then it is going to be at the bottom of the bucket, one that no one wanted until Mr./Mrs. low man on the totem poll came along and said "oh thank god, I'll take it, anything is better than what I've been doing the past x number of years" You're life on the extra board belongs to Greyhound (with a couple of exceptions) they can and will call you at anytime and tell you have 3 hours to get to the port authority! No hanging out drinking with your buddies, missing your daughters dance recital, telling your son you're going to his soccer game only to get a call when he is at school telling you must come into work. There is no going to your best friends wedding in Florida, as an extra board driver you are glued to a 3 hour radius of the port authority, glued to your phone waiting for the call to come in so you can say "yes master!" (with a couple of exceptions) It is not like you can say "no thanks, I don't feel like working today" or "sorry, my kids xyz is tonight." Your life/job as an extra board driver is to be available to go into work 24/7 365... I don't mean to knock Greyhound or the position, just warning some people that's what it is. I know it is a little better now that you get a guaranteed day off, but still.... If they fixed their extra board, made day/night sifts, and/or even gave you 14 days on 2 days off (kind of like an OTR truck drivers schedule) I'd probably go back to the Hound in a heartbeat. Personally I give a lot of respect to those who got past the extra board in NYC, I could not deal with that schedule for the peanuts they pay in return for the commitment/sacrifice they ask you make as an extra board driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BZGuy Posted February 10, 2011 Share #19 Posted February 10, 2011 NY-PHL-NY-PHL-NYNY-BOS-NY I know why they go senior (money)but those two routes have got to be the two worst in either the Greyhound or Peter Pan system. That Philly doublebanger is brutal...45 mins layovers at either end is a joke. I covered it once and ran late the ENTIRE day because of an accident at the helix the first trip out. The regular guys say they get at least an hour of OT everyday off the delays at the Lincoln Tunnel on their last trip in. That NY-Boston is no picnic either. You flip a coin when you get to Hartford to either run 91/95 or keep trucking on 84 and there is no good answer to which way is best. My worst trip was 7 hours one way...I've heard of worse. Just remember with Greyhound it is not a job or a career it is your life!!!! I cannot stress that enough to anyone thinking about the Hound. You will not hold down a run for at least 3 years, and even then it is going to be at the bottom of the bucket, one that no one wanted until Mr./Mrs. low man on the totem poll came along and said "oh thank god, I'll take it, anything is better than what I've been doing the past x number of years" Sounds like the 6 on/1off NYC-ALB! lol (with a couple of exceptions) It is not like you can say "no thanks, I don't feel like working today" or "sorry, my kids xyz is tonight." I thought you could pass on assigments on the extra board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princejv26 Posted February 12, 2011 Share #20 Posted February 12, 2011 That whole 6 and 1 business is ridiculous, but I like the boston run cause you make 15 dollars on exit 1 on 84 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zman Posted February 13, 2011 Share #21 Posted February 13, 2011 Very interesting, Burr. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BZGuy Posted February 14, 2011 Share #22 Posted February 14, 2011 That whole 6 and 1 business is ridiculous, but I like the boston run cause you make 15 dollars on exit 1 on 84 And some free Roy Rodgers chicken! LOL We used to get 20 bucks at exit 71 until some moron driver got caught shoplifting there. The Burger King at exit 68 on I-84 gives up 20 bucks but I don't like stopping there because the parking lot is small and FungWah/Lucky Star stop there. The Arbys at exit 12 on I-91 gives $20 too...alot of drivers don't stop there anymore after some moron passenger got hit crossing RT5 to get some cigarettes. If you ever do NYC-Providence the rest area @ EX92 gives $20, plenty of parking and usually no other buses so you can get in and out real quick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
553 Bridgeton Posted February 14, 2011 Share #23 Posted February 14, 2011 Greyhound trains drivers along the 553 route. I seen them often with new drivers doing practice runs in Vineland/Millville on Route 47 & Route 56 through Vineland City. Sometimes its 2-3 buses, usually 2 prevost and 1 mci or vise versa. Vineland is the biggest city outside of Atlantic City, so i guess its why they train there. There are alot of tight turns in Vineland, car parked all type of ways.And the back roads in Vineland isnt a easy task. I once had to detour and could not make one turn. I felt stupid. I was still fresh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted February 14, 2011 Share #24 Posted February 14, 2011 Very interesting, Burr. Thanks. No prob., sorry it was hard to read I was very tired when I wrote it. I just reread it and :eek: Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted February 14, 2011 Share #25 Posted February 14, 2011 I thought you could pass on assigments on the extra board? You mean like say "no thank you" to an assignment? Or "I don't want to go there, but I'll take something else..." Nooo, not unless things have changed. They'd call and (for NYC) you'd have 3 hours to get to the port authority. Many times they call and you don't even know where you are going when you go into work, many times they will call you in to go on "protection" (paid to sit around until/just in case they need you. Unless you are sick or you utter the magic words, "I'm fatigued," then you can get the day off, but if I remember correctly you had to call them before they called you, and book off. That is from what they've told me in training and based on what I've heard from classmates who stuck around. I remember people telling me there are ways you can "work the board" in your favor, but I'm not even going to pretend I remember what was said about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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