MaBSTOA B/O Exams - No Fee to Apply!! (Open Until Further Notice)

[+Young+]

5 hours ago, Basemac7 said:

I want to thank everyone on these forums that gave advice and or words of encouragement along the way. Young,  Dee and anyone else that conversed with me, it's very much appreciated. 

You're more than welcome! In preparation for the 10-Day Training Session out of Zerega, have you started to get familiar with the invaluable handouts? In addition, if you have to take your CDL road test, have you considered looking at the various YouTube videos as well? 

(Just note that, although you will be utilizing the New Flyer buses in lieu of the retired Orion buses, the majority of the material is similar to what you will be doing.)

Good luck!!

Edited March 29 by +Young+

[Basemac7]

Yes I'm familiar and just downloaded it again.  I've been watching the videos throughout this journey also. Once again Young,  your input on these forums are invaluable. Thanks 

[+Young+]

7 hours ago, Basemac7 said:

Yes I'm familiar and just downloaded it again.  I've been watching the videos throughout this journey also. Once again Young,  your input on these forums are invaluable. Thanks 

You're welcome. Good luck!!

[DEE123]

On 3/29/2024 at 5:32 AM, Basemac7 said:

I want to thank everyone on these forums that gave advice and or words of encouragement along the way. Young,  Dee and anyone else that conversed with me, it's very much appreciated. 

Finally. Congrats, don’t want to ruin your parade, but it’s gonna be a very long year for you. The 7 days of training, and the year of probation are no joke. Please be careful. a lot of idiots on the road that don’t know how to drive, and a lot of unpredictable pedestrians, bikes, and scooters that walk and drive right into your buses path of travel from every single angle, it’s no joke. Keep the mirrors the way Zerega wants it, and Do everything Zerega tells you, or else you’re gonna get fired. Probies are losing their jobs every single day and being replaced by new operators every 2 weeks. 
I have 5 months of probation left fingers crossed. It’s hard, but the end goal will 100% be worth it. 
 

[Basemac7]

Once again Dee, appreciate the input and will follow the great advice. 

[Basemac7]

As a recent US postal driver out of kingsbridge station, believe me I've seen and experienced the idiots first hand.

[Longislandguy7545]

On 4/2/2024 at 5:22 AM, Basemac7 said:

Once again Dee, appreciate the input and will follow the great advice. 

how did day one of training go?

[Longislandguy7545]

On 4/1/2024 at 11:26 PM, DEE123 said:

Finally. Congrats, don’t want to ruin your parade, but it’s gonna be a very long year for you. The 7 days of training, and the year of probation are no joke. Please be careful. a lot of idiots on the road that don’t know how to drive, and a lot of unpredictable pedestrians, bikes, and scooters that walk and drive right into your buses path of travel from every single angle, it’s no joke. Keep the mirrors the way Zerega wants it, and Do everything Zerega tells you, or else you’re gonna get fired. Probies are losing their jobs every single day and being replaced by new operators every 2 weeks. 
I have 5 months of probation left fingers crossed. It’s hard, but the end goal will 100% be worth it. 
 

what depot are you in? you're still in queens i'd imagine? 

[DEE123]

6 hours ago, Longislandguy7545 said:

what depot are you in? you're still in queens i'd imagine? 

Staten Island, Yukon depot. 

[DEE123]

6 hours ago, Longislandguy7545 said:

what depot are you in? you're still in queens i'd imagine? 

If you live in Long Island and want to work in queens, I recommend working for MTA bus company and picking college point. Most of the local routes are decent and easy, and they have a lot of express routes. Every operator out of that depot I spoke to were very happy to be there, and left only because of the commute or because they are younger and want the TA NYCERS pension which can be Transferred to another agency if you get tired of driving and want to do something different with the city or MTA. All the other depots in MTA bus out of queens especially the further south you go in queens aren’t fun depots to work out of. Alot of the streets are super tight, you’re gonna be in gridlock traffic almost all day, you’re gonna have passengers all the way to the front of the bus all day, And the routes are confusing because they go through a bunch of side streets. 
if you do mabstoa I guess fresh pond or grand ave would be ok, I don’t know much about those depots. But yeah, your best bet is college point if you can get it. I know I wouldn’t have left college point myself if I was given the opportunity to work there. 

[SMG610]

Hey guys, im in the process of getting into mabstoa. I have a CDL A with the N2 restriction so during the pre employment appointment i was told to reschedule & return with a CDL B permit. The permit has M,P,X restrictions. I was told it was normal to have passenger as a restriction on a permit, even if the endorsement is actually on it, it'll be removed once you actually pass the road test. So i took the DOT drug test and im waiting to hear back. The employee at the laboratory told me to expect an email. Does anyone know how long it'll typically take/? and what all of my next steps will be/timeframe? Im assuming medical, fingerprints and training scheduling/roadtest etc.

[DEE123]

2 hours ago, SMG610 said:

Hey guys, im in the process of getting into mabstoa. I have a CDL A with the N2 restriction so during the pre employment appointment i was told to reschedule & return with a CDL B permit. The permit has M,P,X restrictions. I was told it was normal to have passenger as a restriction on a permit, even if the endorsement is actually on it, it'll be removed once you actually pass the road test. So i took the DOT drug test and im waiting to hear back. The employee at the laboratory told me to expect an email. Does anyone know how long it'll typically take/? and what all of my next steps will be/timeframe? Im assuming medical, fingerprints and training scheduling/roadtest etc.

If you took the test for the passenger endorsement and passed it, then you’re going to show the restriction for passengers until you pass the road test with DMV because you’re not certified to carry passengers until you pass the road test with the DMV instructor. 
 

they will move you quick if you already took the drug test. Probably in about a week you’ll get your medical. If you pass the medical and all your paperwork is completed the way they want it, then you will get the offer for the job. 

[SMG610]

On 4/10/2024 at 6:09 PM, DEE123 said:

If you took the test for the passenger endorsement and passed it, then you’re going to show the restriction for passengers until you pass the road test with DMV because you’re not certified to carry passengers until you pass the road test with the DMV instructor. 
 

they will move you quick if you already took the drug test. Probably in about a week you’ll get your medical. If you pass the medical and all your paperwork is completed the way they want it, then you will get the offer for the job. 

Alright great, thanks for your reply. Im really hoping medical goes well because of the stories ive read about many medical holds slowing peoples process lol

[Volumee]

I got a call for info session with Mrs die anyone knows what’s it about …does they still make you take the exam and what about the drug test is it the same day 

[SMG610]

11 hours ago, Volumee said:

I got a call for info session with Mrs die anyone knows what’s it about …does they still make you take the exam and what about the drug test is it the same day 

Info session they'll just give you an application and give you a return date. that pre employment return date will be your drug test date. 

[Basemac7]

Apologies for the silence on my part family. Had to shut-out everything and focus. I qualified on day 10. Day 1-6 was ups and downs. You don't truly know how many bad driving habits you have until you start this training. Day 7 ( first qualifying day, did everything gd and boom: went too far on a turn..had to be backed up. Didn't qualify. Day 8-9 (second qualifying day. Different depot and instructor. Day 8 trolly braked 3 times, got a lot of work to do. Day 9 (qualifying day) I almost completed the course and at a stale green light, thought I could make it and hit the accelerator boom..trolly braked. Fail!!! Day 10 ( final qualifying day) name called, got on bus with 2 instructors.  1 in the front giving directions other in the back yelling (back door and drive this bus). I took my time focusing on everything I had learned; mirrors, calling out overpasses, speed limit and passing cars, merging traffic. When we arrived back at zerega, I was told I qualified. What a relief.

[+Young+]

3 hours ago, Basemac7 said:

Apologies for the silence on my part family. Had to shut-out everything and focus. I qualified on day 10. Day 1-6 was ups and downs. You don't truly know how many bad driving habits you have until you start this training. Day 7 ( first qualifying day, did everything gd and boom: went too far on a turn..had to be backed up. Didn't qualify. Day 8-9 (second qualifying day. Different depot and instructor. Day 8 trolly braked 3 times, got a lot of work to do. Day 9 (qualifying day) I almost completed the course and at a stale green light, thought I could make it and hit the accelerator boom..trolly braked. Fail!!! Day 10 ( final qualifying day) name called, got on bus with 2 instructors.  1 in the front giving directions other in the back yelling (back door and drive this bus). I took my time focusing on everything I had learned; mirrors, calling out overpasses, speed limit and passing cars, merging traffic. When we arrived back at zerega, I was told I qualified. What a relief.

Congrats @Basemac7!! Although you passed the 10-Day Training Session, have you considered looking at the handouts? Were they helpful or not?

In addition, for those who are about to enter the 10-Day Training Session, do you have any pieces of advice to share?

Again, congrats on passing the 10-Day Training Session!!

[Basemac7]

Yes, the hand-outs were very helpful with understanding the different parts on the bus. Best advice is pretty much the same as many others previously said.  Get comfortable with looking, scanning your mirrors constantly.  Call out any hazards you see next to the bus while driving it. Look ahead ( forward plan) to see the big picture, recognize what type of turn and set your bus up for it. Always check mirrors before moving the bus. Each day you will be given a report of what you need to work on, process it and apply it next day. They want you to drive the bus how they teach you. 

[Basemac7]

Thanks Young. 

[Basemac7]

Last but not least, keep a positive attitude. Try and block out the bad days and focus on the corrections. TAKE YOUR TIME.. no matter what!!!! You can correct a mistake if your moving slow enough. Positive Affirmation; I can drive this bus safely,  I will drive this bus safely.  I say all of this because I was nervous as h*ll. I even had classmates who drove large school busses and handled the bus better than me, that didn't make it. I asked one super visor ( how would you get over nervousness) he said your nervous cause your not comfortable with your surroundings. Look around you start seeing and calling out all hazards; blue car on my right, pedestrian in the cross walk etc. When you're in a new neighborhood ( not aware or comfortable) when you go to your old neighborhood you relax cause you kno where things are ( comfortable). Hope it makes sense. 

[Longislandguy7545]

2 hours ago, Basemac7 said:

Last but not least, keep a positive attitude. Try and block out the bad days and focus on the corrections. TAKE YOUR TIME.. no matter what!!!! You can correct a mistake if your moving slow enough. Positive Affirmation; I can drive this bus safely,  I will drive this bus safely.  I say all of this because I was nervous as h*ll. I even had classmates who drove large school busses and handled the bus better than me, that didn't make it. I asked one super visor ( how would you get over nervousness) he said your nervous cause your not comfortable with your surroundings. Look around you start seeing and calling out all hazards; blue car on my right, pedestrian in the cross walk etc. When you're in a new neighborhood ( not aware or comfortable) when you go to your old neighborhood you relax cause you kno where things are ( comfortable). Hope it makes sense. 

congratulations on your success to this point! do you know what depot you are going to be working out of yet?

[+Young+]

13 hours ago, Basemac7 said:

Thanks Young. 

You're welcome!!

[Drive4Life]

On 4/1/2024 at 11:26 PM, DEE123 said:

Finally. Congrats, don’t want to ruin your parade, but it’s gonna be a very long year for you. The 7 days of training, and the year of probation are no joke. Please be careful. a lot of idiots on the road that don’t know how to drive, and a lot of unpredictable pedestrians, bikes, and scooters that walk and drive right into your buses path of travel from every single angle, it’s no joke. Keep the mirrors the way Zerega wants it, and Do everything Zerega tells you, or else you’re gonna get fired. Probies are losing their jobs every single day and being replaced by new operators every 2 weeks. 
I have 5 months of probation left fingers crossed. It’s hard, but the end goal will 100% be worth it. 
 

I’ve been trying to contact the MTA to try to reschedule my pre employment for the Bus Operator position. I’ve emailed them, went to 149 pierpont street, and I’ve called the rescheduling number multiple times to get no response. Does anyone know how I can reschedule my pre employment for exam numbers 4110 and 4104?

[Basemac7]

We pick tomorrow at zerega.

[DEE123]

18 hours ago, Basemac7 said:

We pick tomorrow at zerega.

Where’d you wind up?