NJT bus operator new hire Newbie information

[newbie]

Can someone point me to a thread for NJT bus operator new hire info thread?

Looking for basic information regarding when do you start earning vacation days and how many you get, and when do you get more?

Sick days info. When do you accrue them? How many do you get etc. 

Are occurrences the same as sick days? What's the difference ?

Are there any breaks? If so, when and if you're running late, no break right?

Do you get a choice in which garage you are assigned to? Is there a benefit to working for one garage as opposed to another if they're equal distance away?

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

[Lawrence St]

40 minutes ago, newbie said:

Can someone point me to a thread for NJT bus operator new hire info thread?

Looking for basic information regarding when do you start earning vacation days and how many you get, and when do you get more?

Sick days info. When do you accrue them? How many do you get etc. 

Are occurrences the same as sick days? What's the difference ?

Are there any breaks? If so, when and if you're running late, no break right?

Do you get a choice in which garage you are assigned to? Is there a benefit to working for one garage as opposed to another if they're equal distance away?

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

Greetings!

1. IIRC, you start earning vacation/sick days after probation, which is 90 days.

For breaks, it depends on your run. I had a 10 hour run that only had 10 minute breaks at each end of the line, it was horrible. Then I picked a better line that had a two hour and a half swing in the middle.

Yes you get a choice if that garage isn't full. Each garage has it's own quirks and pros, I personally went to Meadowlands because it had a mix of everything.

[newbie]

Thanks for the info Lawrence ST. I appreciate it. I have my drug test this Friday.  During the information call I asked about breaks to use the bathroom and it didn't go over very well. He said yeah. Go before you start your run. I felt very foolish. I guess bus drivers have all good bladders. Lol and when I asked about time off they said they suggest not taking any time off for at least one year. I can understand that because you need to earn your  vacation so you can have it available for you for the following year. It's just a little strange that they don't say after one year you get one week vacation and after 10 years you get 2 weeks vacation. Which is what I was wondering. They never really covered sick days. They mentioned something about occurrences 21 occurrences in 2 years. Don't know what they're talking about since they never went into detail about it. It's a lot to absorb. Thanks again.

[Lawrence St]

On 4/30/2023 at 6:00 PM, newbie said:

Thanks for the info Lawrence ST. I appreciate it. I have my drug test this Friday.  During the information call I asked about breaks to use the bathroom and it didn't go over very well. He said yeah. Go before you start your run. I felt very foolish. I guess bus drivers have all good bladders. Lol and when I asked about time off they said they suggest not taking any time off for at least one year. I can understand that because you need to earn your  vacation so you can have it available for you for the following year. It's just a little strange that they don't say after one year you get one week vacation and after 10 years you get 2 weeks vacation. Which is what I was wondering. They never really covered sick days. They mentioned something about occurrences 21 occurrences in 2 years. Don't know what they're talking about since they never went into detail about it. It's a lot to absorb. Thanks again.

Let me tell you something, it is your human right to go to the bathroom if you need to. DO NOT under any circumstance hold it because you feel like you will get in trouble. You will not, and will only negatively affect your health in the long run. Just let the control center know, and I personally do this, write down the time & control console # you spoke to.

[newbie]

Thanks Lawrence ST. I appreciate the information and feedback.  I was certainly concerned that this would be a job that would not work out for me for this reason alone.   Lol   I will move forward as I have my drug test Friday. Thanks again.

[BreeddekalbL]

@newbie let it also be known that i posted a previous thread similar questions, 

Let it be known that you will be locked into meadowlands for your career, are you someone who might get bored in one place and wants to move around etc?

[newbie]

   That's a good question. Would like you're bored? I was going to ask if I had to choose and was given a choice between oradell, Patterson and Wayne which would I choose? Paterson's about 15 minutes away and Wayne and oradell or about 25 minutes away from me. Any recommendations of which to choose?

[BreeddekalbL]

3 hours ago, newbie said:

   That's a good question. Would like you're bored? I was going to ask if I had to choose and was given a choice between oradell, Patterson and Wayne which would I choose? Paterson's about 15 minutes away and Wayne and oradell or about 25 minutes away from me. Any recommendations of which to choose?

Patterson doesn't have coach buses no more, it also depends do you like local routes or subrban routes.

[newbie]

I like suburban routes I think. Lol.  Actually, could you describe what the difference is between a local route and the suburban route. And if you could also let me know if Paterson doesn't have coach buses, what do they have now.  It's possible I wouldn't know the difference between coach buses and other buses. I really need a link to the newbie section. I have yet to find it. Lol

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, newbie said:

I like suburban routes I think. Lol.  Actually, could you describe what the difference is between a local route and the suburban route. And if you could also let me know if Paterson doesn't have coach buses, what do they have now.  It's possible I wouldn't know the difference between coach buses and other buses. I really need a link to the newbie section. I have yet to find it. Lol

It's a bit difficult to explain, but let me give it a shot.

In NJ Transit, you have interstate routes (Routes that either go to NY or Pennsylvania) and intrastate routes (Routes that remain within NJ). 

Generally speaking, intrastate routes use "city buses" (NABIs or XD60s). Usually, buses with a door in the front and a door in the back so that the bus can load and unload people simultaneously at a stop.

For interstate routes, those usually use MCI coaches (basically, those charter-style buses with one door in the front that are designed for long stretches of highway, and not that much turnover). However, there are some interstate routes that use "city buses" (For example, the #126 from Hoboken to PABT, or the #159 from Fort Lee to PABT).

There's also "intracommuter routes", which are usually operated with MCI coaches. Those are designed to bring people from Central NJ (e.g. Freehold, Toms River, Lakewood, etc) to areas like Newark, Jersey City, and Hoboken, which are large urban centers, but aren't NYC or Philadelphia.

Keep in mind that most interstate routes allow intrastate riders (So for example, on the #108, you can ride from Newark to Union City, or on the #190, you can ride from Paterson to Rutherford).

Keep in mind that an interstate route with suburban MCI coaches doesn't necessarily serve suburban neighborhoods or have long highway stretches. For example, the #165/166 local pretty much get out of the Lincoln Tunnel and start making local stops immediately afterwards, though some pretty dense urban areas.

I would say if you don't have too much familiarity, just focus on picking shifts based on a schedule that works for you (If you prefer mornings, evenings, etc...and then also look at things like the breaks between trips and how much overtime is paid out for certain shifts), and just take it as it comes. As you gain experience, you'll be able to figure out which routes you prefer (and it comes down to your preferences as well...for trips that involve going to the PABT, you might run late often...if you like overtime, you may see that as a benefit...if you don't like dealing with traffic then you might see that as a downside)

[newbie]

Thanks for that great summary checkmatechamp13.   I really appreciate that information.  One of my biggest concerns is that I have an severely arthritic left ankle, bone on, and I wear a special Arizona ankle brace.  I limp along pretty badly and was hoping that it wouldn't be an issue with being a bus operator as I figured I would be seated driving and minimum walking. Does anyone have any feedback for me about working with this somewhat debilitating condition or would they be not hire me or terminate my employment?? 

 

 

[RailBus63]

45 minutes ago, newbie said:

Thanks for that great summary checkmatechamp13.   I really appreciate that information.  One of my biggest concerns is that I have an severely arthritic left ankle, bone on, and I wear a special Arizona ankle brace.  I limp along pretty badly and was hoping that it wouldn't be an issue with being a bus operator as I figured I would be seated driving and minimum walking. Does anyone have any feedback for me about working with this somewhat debilitating condition or would they be not hire me or terminate my employment?? 

 

 

I'm not sure about NJT's requirements, but at the agencies I've worked at the bus operators must be capable of pushing a manual wheelchair with passenger up the ramp.  We had to undergo a physical exam and pass an occupational exam (lifting a weighted box and carrying it up a set of stairs, pushing a weighted sleigh device meant to simulate a wheelchair, etc.).  Failing either exam would result in the job offer being terminated. In case of an emergency, you will also need to assist passengers in evacuating the bus. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by RailBus63

[newbie]

Thanks RailBus63.  That information seems logical and makes perfect sense. And I think I can handle all those requirements, although a little slower than most. Thanks again

[newbie]

Garage selection question. They told us that once you select the garage you're pretty much stuck with that garage. There are cases where you could transfer but of course when you do transfer you start again from the bottom, As far as garage seniority goes. Given that I know nothing about any of the garages and I'll say I live in Hawthorne, New Jersey, about 15 minutes from the Patterson garage and 25 minutes from the Wayne garage and 25 minutes from the oradell garage and other garages being probably another 10 or 15 minutes further than that. If you had to choose between Paterson, Wayne and oradell which would you choose? And why? Thanks newbie Bob

[BreeddekalbL]

4 hours ago, newbie said:

Garage selection question. They told us that once you select the garage you're pretty much stuck with that garage. There are cases where you could transfer but of course when you do transfer you start again from the bottom, As far as garage seniority goes. Given that I know nothing about any of the garages and I'll say I live in Hawthorne, New Jersey, about 15 minutes from the Patterson garage and 25 minutes from the Wayne garage and 25 minutes from the oradell garage and other garages being probably another 10 or 15 minutes further than that. If you had to choose between Paterson, Wayne and oradell which would you choose? And why? Thanks newbie Bob

If it was me i would in a ranked choice order. 

1. Wayne. Nice variety of coach routes to nyc pabt and some take you into upstate ny

2. Oradell. Has routes that you will be busy on to the pabt 

3. Patterson market street. Your routes will go to gwb bus terminal and one route goes down to newark

But it all depends on you 

Edited May 5, 2023 by BreeddekalbL

[go25]

42 minutes ago, BreeddekalbL said:

If it was me i would in a ranked choice order. 

1. Wayne. Nice variety of coach routes to nyc pabt and some take you into upstate ny

2. Oradell. Has routes that you will be busy on to the pabt 

3. Patterson market street. Your routes will go to gwb bus terminal and one route goes down to newark

But it all depends on you 

Paterson* Two routes go to Newark, not one.

Also, which garage(s) has taken the PABT routes that Market Street no longer do?

[Lawrence St]

I would not work out of Market. The garage is tight, old, and not a place to be when your on probation.

[checkmatechamp13]

3 hours ago, BreeddekalbL said:

If it was me i would in a ranked choice order. 

1. Wayne. Nice variety of coach routes to nyc pabt and some take you into upstate ny

2. Oradell. Has routes that you will be busy on to the pabt 

3. Patterson market street. Your routes will go to gwb bus terminal and one route goes down to newark

But it all depends on you 

The #72 and #74 both go into Newark (though the #74 only goes to the outskirts). The #703, #704, #712, and #770 don't go to GWB or Newark. Here are the assignments (according to Wikipedia).

Oradell: 144, 155 (split with Westwood), 157 (split with Westwood), 162, 163, 164 (split with Wayne), 165 (split with Westwood), 166 (split with Meadowlands), 167 (split with Meadowlands, Westwood), 168, 177 (split with Meadowlands, Westwood), 353 (split with Ironbound, Meadowlands, Community Coach)

Wayne: 122 (split with Meadowlands), 145, 148, 151, 160, 161, 164 (split with Oradell) 190 (split with Meadowlands), 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 324

Market Street (Paterson): 72, 74, 171, 175, 178, 182, 186, 703, 704, 712, 770

What I recommend is going to MyBusNow and checking out the routes to get an idea of where they run (Just to get an idea of whether you're going through urban areas, suburban areas, highway miles, local miles, PABT, GWB, etc). Also, FWIW, the intrastate routes out of Market Street are exact fare only (which means you don't have to make change when a customer pays with cash). The rest of the routes are full service routes which means you have to make change. (Except at PABT and GWB themselves). 

@newbie

https://mybusnow.njtransit.com/bustime/map/displaymap.jsp

2 hours ago, go25 said:

Paterson* Two routes go to Newark, not one.

Also, which garage(s) has taken the PABT routes that Market Street no longer do?

Wayne has taken most of the Market Street express routes.

[FlxMtroD]

48 minutes ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The #72 and #74 both go into Newark (though the #74 only goes to the outskirts). The #703, #704, #712, and #770 don't go to GWB or Newark. Here are the assignments (according to Wikipedia).

Oradell: 144, 155 (split with Westwood), 157 (split with Westwood), 162, 163, 164 (split with Wayne), 165 (split with Westwood), 166 (split with Meadowlands), 167 (split with Meadowlands, Westwood), 168, 177 (split with Meadowlands, Westwood), 353 (split with Ironbound, Meadowlands, Community Coach)

Wayne: 122 (split with Meadowlands), 145, 148, 151, 160, 161, 164 (split with Oradell) 190 (split with Meadowlands), 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 324

Market Street (Paterson): 72, 74, 171, 175, 178, 182, 186, 703, 704, 712, 770

What I recommend is going to MyBusNow and checking out the routes to get an idea of where they run (Just to get an idea of whether you're going through urban areas, suburban areas, highway miles, local miles, PABT, GWB, etc). Also, FWIW, the intrastate routes out of Market Street are exact fare only (which means you don't have to make change when a customer pays with cash). The rest of the routes are full service routes which means you have to make change. (Except at PABT and GWB themselves). 

@newbie

https://mybusnow.njtransit.com/bustime/map/displaymap.jsp

Wayne has taken most of the Market Street express routes.

Including the fulltime 160 route

[newbie]

Thanks BreeddekalbL, go25, Lawrence St, checkmatechamp13, and FlxMtroD. I appreciate the info and everyone's perspective. I owe you each a drink for sure.   But you may throw the drink at me when I add this stupid question of what is a split route? 

[checkmatechamp13]

1 hour ago, newbie said:

Thanks BreeddekalbL, go25, Lawrence St, checkmatechamp13, and FlxMtroD. I appreciate the info and everyone's perspective. I owe you each a drink for sure.   But you may throw the drink at me when I add this stupid question of what is a split route? 

Glad to help  

A split route has runs that come out of both depots (So for example, on the #122, it is split between Wayne and Meadowlands, so some #122 drivers come from Wayne, and some come from Meadowlands).

Keep in mind that many routes are interlined (Meaning you come into a terminal as one route and leave as another route). So for example, you might do a #122 going into PABT, then do a PABT - Paterson trip on the #190, then a Paterson - PABT trip on the #161, then a PABT - Warwick trip on the #197. Some runs are just straight runs (e.g. 2 round-trips on the #197) while others are a mix of different routes. 

Also keep in mind that once in a while, another depot may cover a route that is normally not based out of that depot (for example, I saw a Greenville bus cover the #39, which is normally based out of Hilton). You should ask for training on a route before you volunteer to cover it (So you know all of the turns, all of the stops, etc)

While we're on the topic of stops, keep in mind that some stops are unsigned. So for example, this "No Parking" sign is actually a bus stop for the #76 to Newark (and across the street is a bus stop for the #76 to Hackensack). It makes no sense, but in any case, you don't want to accidentally bypass a waiting customer, so it is important to be familiar with quirks like these.

Edited May 6, 2023 by checkmatechamp13

[newbie]

Thanks checkmatechamp13,   I'm glad I asked as I always thought the bus drivers would do the route the one direction and turn around and do the route in the return direction. But obviously there's a lot more involved with some routes,  I have a question about shifts and bidding. I don't think I need to worry about bidding on a route or shift being on the bottom of the list, but I would like to understand how it works.  What are the work shifts 4:00 a.m. to 12.noon, 8-5 pm, etc.  Do they force you to do split shifts ? So being the bottom driver in the garage what shift and days would you imagine I'd be working? 

[checkmatechamp13]

9 minutes ago, newbie said:

Thanks checkmatechamp13,   I'm glad I asked as I always thought the bus drivers would do the route the one direction and turn around and do the route in the return direction. But obviously there's a lot more involved with some routes,  I have a question about shifts and bidding. I don't think I need to worry about bidding on a route or shift being on the bottom of the list, but I would like to understand how it works.  What are the work shifts 4:00 a.m. to 12.noon, 8-5 pm, etc.  Do they force you to do split shifts ? So being the bottom driver in the garage what shift and days would you imagine I'd be working? 

Generally speaking, the more senior drivers prefer weekends off, so you will likely get stuck with weekend shifts (Plus three weekdays of course...in some cases, maybe you could work Tuesday - Saturday or Sunday - Thursday and get at least one weekend day off). 

The work shifts vary widely. Start and end times are spread out across the whole service day. There's people who work early in the morning until around lunchtime, there's people who start around lunchtime and work until the evening, there's people who start in the PM rush and work until the late evening, and then there's a few overnight runs. (NJ Transit doesn't have a very extensive 24/7 network like NYC, but you might pick up an overnight shift working the #190 out of Wayne or the #166 out of Oradell). I would imagine there's a decent amount of split shifts (I'm not sure if there's any compensation for the time in the middle...I know at NYCT, they pay half pay for the swing/meal break if it's over two hours...not sure if NJ Transit does anything similar).

The benefit of living close to work is that in the event of a split shift, you can at least go home to pass the time (Get your grocery shopping in, or a quick medical appointment, run some errands basically). One small advantage of Market Street is that it's actually in a city, so you can pass the time at a restaurant or at the Great Falls and do it all on foot....get a chance to stretch your legs and walk around basically (For Oradell, the depot is on a dead-end street near a residential area, and for Wayne it's a long cul-de-sac in the middle of an industrial area off the highway).

 

[newbie]

Thanks checkmatechamp13.   It will certainly be an adjustment working all these different shifts but I am up for the challenge. Thanks again. So everyone bids on a shift by seniority and then they bid on the route by seniority. Also? Or are routes just distributed as management decides ? If routes are also bid on, What makes a route less desirable? 

[BreeddekalbL]

9 hours ago, newbie said:

Thanks checkmatechamp13.   It will certainly be an adjustment working all these different shifts but I am up for the challenge. Thanks again. So everyone bids on a shift by seniority and then they bid on the route by seniority. Also? Or are routes just distributed as management decides ? If routes are also bid on, What makes a route less desirable? 

To answer the what makes a route less desirable when bidding is that the schedule of the run, for example it might have the days off you want but it might have a crappy schedule or its paired with a route that might "beat your butt" etc

While im here let me also add my thread where i asked similar questions etc

https://www.nyctransitforums.com/topic/60236-new-jersey-transit-bus-operator/

Edited May 6, 2023 by BreeddekalbL