Resource Center

Streamlining and Strengthening Bus Operator Hiring

Current bus operator hiring processes are often lengthy, and when months pass between the initial application and the start of paid training, many of the best candidates drop out of the process to pursue other opportunities. Fortunately, there are ways of simplifying and shortening it to retain more candidates, reduce repetitive tasks, and ultimately employ more qualified operators, more quickly. The Transit Workforce Center (TWC), supported by the Federal Transit Administration, undertook a research effort to identify these strategies, involving an industry survey, interviews, and case studies of transit agencies’ operator hiring practices. 

This webinar outlines the results of this research effort, as well as an overview of best practices for streamlining hiring processes, including insights into tracking where the best candidates come from, monitoring attrition, expediting background checks, and making training timelines more efficient. The webinar also features an expert panel of transit agency officials, who share their experiences of the kinds of challenges their agencies faced in hiring bus operators and how they responded to these challenges to attract and retain more high-quality candidates. After sharing their insights, the panel responds to audience Q&A.

Transit Workforce Center

October 2026

Skills-Based Assessments for Public Sector Hiring

Skills-based hiring requires skills-based assessment. This guide walks through proven approaches states and cities are using to evaluate candidate abilities across the entire employee lifecycle—from screening through promotion.

This resource contains detailed guidance on hiring assessments, onboarding strategies, learning and development, and real examples from Colorado, California, Louisiana, Maryland, and the federal government. See how states are designing job descriptions, conducting skills-focused interviews, using work simulations, and building career pathways based on demonstrated capability.

Practices for success—defining skills, updating job classifications, distinguishing between minimum, required, and preferred qualifications–are outlined. In addition, the guide explores hiring assessment best practices, including preparation, execution, and fairness; onboarding assessments, such as apprenticeships and probationary-period strategies; and learning and development approaches for retention and internal mobility.

Opportunity @ Work

October 2026

Transit Cooperative Research Program Synthesis 190: Strengthening the Transit Workforce Through Operator Health and Wellbeing

Nearly all U.S. transit agencies face operator workforce shortages driven by demographic challenges, turnover, and job quality concerns. An aging workforce and pandemic-era retirements have intensified these shortages, while increases in roadway fatalities, road rage, violent incidents, and other safety concerns may contribute to actual or perceived workplace hazards. Transit operators also face significant job stress because they bear substantial responsibility for schedules, passenger safety, fare collection, and vehicle operation while having limited control over many factors affecting their work. These conditions can contribute to a range of physical and mental health risks, including cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, fatigue, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

TCRP Synthesis 190: Strengthening the Transit Workforce Through Operator Health and Wellbeing, produced by TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program, explores the psychosocial hazards faced by transit operators, the impacts of these hazards on operator health and wellbeing, and the state of the practice in policies and programs developed by transit agencies to address them. The synthesis finds that psychosocial hazards are a significant concern for transit operators, particularly growing verbal and physical aggression from passengers, and that operators face elevated risks of physical and mental health conditions. Transit agencies use a range of programs and practices to address these hazards and promote operator wellbeing, although funding, staffing, and awareness challenges may limit their effectiveness.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

October 2026

Scaling Public Sector Apprenticeships Through Intermediaries: Lessons from Emerging Practice

This report details key findings from an exploratory study aimed at identifying how intermediaries help government employers overcome barriers to apprenticeship and what emerging models for apprenticeship are most successful.

Apprenticeships for America

September 2026

Recruiting and Retention Toolkit

This toolkit from the Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association provides strategies for agencies to improve recruitment and retention, particularly in the first 90 days of an employee’s time at the agency. It includes a cost of turnover calculator, information about understanding driver roles (fixed route versus paratransit), tips for recruiting internal and external candidates, strategies for improving hiring practices and the job application process, advice about community partnerships, and new hire training resources.

Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association

September 2026

Reaching Gen Z: Rewiring Apprenticeship Recruitment for Skilled Careers

The skilled trades gap is growing, and traditional recruitment methods are missing the mark with Gen Z. If the transit industry wants to scale the apprenticeship system and build the workforce of the future, it has to change how it talks about skilled careers.

This webinar featured the Skills Jam team talking through an actionable breakdown of how to rewire the narrative and connect with the next generation of apprentices. They discussed why standard recruitment practices are failing to meet Gen Z needs, how social media is shifting the landscape, and what actually gets young adults to click, engage, and apply.

Apprenticeships for America

September 2026

WIN Return on Investment Calculator

WIN’s return on investment (ROI) calculator shows the ROI for an apprentice’s wage progression over the life of the program, the wages of an experienced worker in an occupation, the hourly cost of training an apprentice, etc.

Workforce Intelligence Network

Request for Proposals: Innovative Postsecondary Models Fund

Administering Organization: Panorama Global

Posted Date: July 31, 2026

Closing Date for Applications: September 14, 2026

Grant range: $750,000 – $1,000,000 (7 to 10 total awards)

Geographic Scope: National