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Bus Operator Workforce Management: Practitioner’s Guide
This practitioner’s guide provides recommendations and resources enabling transit agencies to better assess, plan, and implement their operator workforce management programs.
Eno Center for Transportation, International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC), Huber & Associates
January 2023
Making Connections 2022 – Program Overview
The Transit Workforce Center hosted Making Connections 2022: The National Transit Workforce Conference in Washington, D.C. on December 13-14, 2022. This conference brought together participants from urban, suburban, rural, and tribal public transportation and industry stakeholders in plenaries, workshops, networking, and ongoing dialogue. Discussions and sessions featured topics including recruitment and retention, training, mentoring and apprenticeships, new technologies, preparing today’s and tomorrow’s workforce, and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
Session materials from Making Connections 2022 are hosted on the TWC Resource Center. Please click here to view all related materials. A PDF copy of the conference schedule is linked below.
Transit Workforce Center
December 2022
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Career Pathways , Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion , Hiring and Recruitment , Labor-Management Partnerships , Making Connections 2022 , Program Evaluation and ROI , Retention , Safety and Health , Trainer and Mentor Development , Training and Development , Zero Emission Buses
Making Connections 2022 – Engines to Inverters: Preparing Technicians for ZEB Deployment
This session was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2022 transit workforce conference in December, 2022.
Transit Workforce Center
December 2022
Session Summary: As transit agencies integrate zero-emission technologies into their fleet, many are experiencing difficulties in preparing their frontline workforce to properly maintain and operate the equipment. In this workshop, panelists explored lessons learned, best practices, and available resources to upskill their technician and maintenance workforce and prepare the future frontline workers to safely and effectively work with ZEB technologies. Presentations by industry experts, early-adopters, and successful rollouts offered insight for an audience seeking guidance on first steps and follow-through.
Moderators
James Hall: Program Manager, Technical Training – International Transportation Learning Center/Transit Workforce Center
Lisa Jerram: Director of Bus Operations and New Vehicle Technologies – American Public Transportation Association
Speakers
Joseph Gamez: Assistant Chief Maintenance Officer Maintenance Training – New York City Transit, Department of Buses
Walter Kirkland: Service Manager – StarMetro Tallahassee
Obed Mejia: Senior Bus Equipment Instructor – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Making Connections 2022 – Designing Safety: Bus of the Future and Beyond
This session was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2022 transit workforce conference in December, 2022.
Transit Workforce Center
December 2022
TOPICS: Making Connections 2022 , Safety and Health
Session Summary: In the hierarchy of health and safety protections, engineering controls are at the top. This session addressed the critical issues of operator assaults and operator safety through the lens of safety by design, with a major focus on the significant planning work that has been done to create an effective operator barrier against assault and respiratory hazards. Other advances in safety-related design, such as blind-spot elimination for protection of pedestrians, ergonomics and accessibility, were also reviewed.
Moderators
Jack Clark: Executive Director – International Transportation Learning Center/Transit Workforce Center
Speakers
Christy Campoll: Senior Associate – RLS & Associates Inc.
Brian Sherlock: Safety Specialist – Amalgamated Transit Union
Mohammed Yousuf: Director, Office of Infrastructure, Safety and Asset Innovation – Federal Transit Administration
Making Connections 2022 – Drive to Revive: Preparing Operators for ZEB Deployment
This session was presented as part of TWC’s Making Connections 2022 transit workforce conference in December, 2022.
Transit Workforce Center
December 2022
Session Summary: As transit agencies integrate zero-emission technologies into their fleet, many are experiencing difficulties in preparing their frontline workforce to properly maintain and operate the equipment. In this workshop, panelists explored lessons learned, best practices, and available resources to upskill their operator workforce and prepare the future frontline workers to safely and effectively work with ZEB technologies. Presentations by industry experts, early-adopters, and examination of successful rollouts offered insight for an audience seeking guidance on first steps and follow-through.
Moderator
Maurice Beard: Technical Training Supervisor [retired] – Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
Speakers
Dinero Washington: President/Chief Executive Officer – Shreveport Transit Management (SporTran)
Richard Gwin: Training Specialist – Sacramento Regional Transit District
Alphonza Clements: Executive Board Member – DASH/ATU Local 689
ITLC Signals Training Consortium
The International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) organizes multiple national training consortia to develop standards-based national training courseware for frontline occupations in public transportation organizations.
In 2013, public transportation agencies and unions across the country came together to form the National Signals Maintenance Training Consortium. They were driven to create a full set of standardized national courseware to support training and apprenticeship programs for signal maintainers. Since then, over 70 signals maintenance subject matter experts from 26 member agencies and unions have worked with instructional systems designers from the ITLC to create a comprehensive training program for signal maintainers.
International Transportation Learning Center
November 2022
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
Electric Vehicle Maintenance Best Practices
This best practice spotlight article on electric vehicle maintenance provides recommended practices and case studies from transit agencies that have successfully implemented these vehicles into their fleets.
National RTAP, Shared-Use Mobility Center (SUMC), and Transit Workforce Center (TWC)
November 2022
Transportation Learning Network (TLN)
The Transportation Learning Network (TLN) is part of an industry-wide effort aimed at strengthening transit training programs. It is designed and maintained by the International Transportation Learning Center, and provides a platform for accessing industry specific training materials – both for direct self-led online learning and also for download by trainers to use in a classroom or field settings.
Topics covered include maintenance of transit elevators and escalators, signals, railcar and traction power.
International Transportation Learning Center
September 2022
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Safety and Health , Training and Development
Train-the-Trainer Level 1: Adult Learning Theory and Teaching Techniques
The International Transportation Learning Center’s week-long, highly engaging train the trainer course takes subject matter experts and gives them the skills to convey their vast knowledge to others in a classroom setting. Topics include: adult learning theory, teaching techniques and presentation skills. Participants will spend most of the week applying what they’re learning through rounds of practice teaching in a classroom, lab and field setting. They’ll also give and receive feedback from peers – one of the most important skills of a trainer!
Subsequent learning opportunities include Train-the-Trainer Level 2: Creating Courseware that Works.
International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC)
August 2022
Train-the-Trainer Level 2: Creating Courseware that Works
This week-long, interactive course, Train the Trainer Level 2, builds on Train the Trainer Level 1 by giving experienced trainers the skills to define, design and develop an effective and engaging training course and accompanying courseware and assessments, incorporating established adult learning principles. Participants apply this new knowledge by starting to develop materials for a course of their choosing, which would ultimately be taught at their location.
International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC)
August 2022
Traction Power Training Consortium
The International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) organizes multiple national training consortia to develop standards-based national training courseware for frontline occupations in public transportation organizations.
The Traction Power Training Consortium was launched by the Transportation Learning Center in January 2020. Over the next four years (2020-2023), the Consortium will develop introductory and advanced instruction-ready and interactive courses on traction power maintenance that build on APTA-approved and industry-recognized training standards. Course topics will include: power distribution, industry trends, worker safety, emergency power, tools, and test equipment, catenary and third rail power distribution, grounding, utility power management.
International Transportation Learning Center
July 2022
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
National Transit Frontline Worker Recruitment Campaign
Across the United States, whether large, small, urban, rural, or tribal, transit agencies are facing the challenge of recruiting and retaining drivers, mechanics, and technicians who can operate and maintain the buses of our public transit systems. To help support local transit efforts, TWC is developing the #ConnectingMyCommunity national frontline worker recruitment campaign, coordinated with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and industry, labor, and community partners from around the country.
Transit Workforce Center
July 2022
TWC Briefing Report: Bus Driver Recruitment and Retention in Challenging Times
The TWC released this brief in spring 2022 discussing challenges facing transit agencies in recruiting and retaining bus drivers.
Transit Workforce Center
April 2022
TOPICS: Hiring and Recruitment , Retention , Safety and Health
FTA Standards Development Program: Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection (Report 0212)
This report contains research that reviewed existing standards and best practices and develops use cases, a risk assessment matrix, and high-level concepts of operations (CONOPS) for Rail Transit RWP.
Federal Transit Administration
February 2022
TOPICS: Safety and Health
Providing Training for Zero Emission Buses: Recommended Expanded RFP Language
This document includes recommended language for agencies to build robust training procurement into their ZEB Request for Proposals. It is intended to be used as a starting point for agencies to tailor their training procurement to suit their specific needs.
International Transportation Learning Center & Jobs to Move America
February 2022
Wayside Worker Protection Technology—TrackSafe Phase II Research & Demonstration (Report 0194)
This report outlines research and demonstration of a roadway worker protection (RWP) warning technology developed by Bombardier Rail called TrackSafe. The system was installed at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) and was designed to reduce the hazards of working within a transit rail right-of-way (ROW).
Federal Transit Administration
May 2021
TOPICS: Safety and Health
Electrifying Transit: A Guidebook for Implementing Battery Electric Buses
To assist stakeholders with interest in deploying BEBs, this guidebook describes the decisions and considerations required for successful BEB implementation.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory
April 2021
TOPICS: Procurement , Safety and Health , Zero Emission Buses
ASE Transit Bus Tests
ASE initiated this Test Series to identify and recognize those Transit Bus Technicians who demonstrate knowledge of the skills necessary to diagnose, service, and repair various systems on transit buses.
The Official ASE Study Guide for Transit Bus Tests is designed to help technicians prepare for the ASE certification tests.
Automotive Service Excellence (ASE)
January 2021
TCRP Research Report 225: A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program have jointly issued NCHRP Research Report 963/TCRP Research Report 225: A Pandemic Playbook for Transportation Agencies, which was created to improve transportation agency responses to a pandemic.
The Playbook concentrates on what needs to be done, when and by whom. It briefly addresses planning for a pandemic, a topic addressed in greater depth in NCHRP Report 769: A Guide for Public Transportation Pandemic Planning and Response. It summarizes effective practices currently used by transportation agencies based on interviews with state departments of transportation and transit agency leaders and operational personnel, supplemented with national and international research results.
National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Transit Cooperative Research Program
January 2021
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
Mountain Line Zero-Emission Bus Implementation Plan
The Northern Arizona intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (referred to as Mountain Line) contracted with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) to develop a Zero-Emission Bus (ZEB) Transition Plan to identify a zero-emission roadmap for full-scale deployment.
Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and AECOM
December 2020
MTS Zero-Emission Bus Fleet Transition Study
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) engaged the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) to perform a zero-emission bus (ZEB) transition study in March 2018. The study’s goal is to create a plan for a 100% zero-emission fleet by 2040 to be in compliance with the Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation enacted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The results of the study will be used to inform MTS Board members and educate MTS staff of estimated costs, benefits, constraints, and risks to guide future planning and decision making.
Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), AECOM, & the Fiedler Group
September 2020
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Zero Emission Buses
ITLC Rail Car Training Consortium
The International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) organizes multiple national training consortia to develop standards-based national training courseware for frontline occupations in public transportation organizations.
Started in late 2015, the National Rail Car Training Consortium has moved forward with its mission to create standardized national training courseware for rail car technicians. The development team composed of over 40 rail car maintenance subject matter experts (SMEs) from 18 member agencies and unions from across the country, along with instructional systems designers from the ITLC, design curriculum and courseware for the rail and transit industry.
The attached catalog contains a summary of Consortium courseware.
International Transportation Learning Center
July 2020
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
TCRP Research Report 199: Transit Technical Training (Volumes 1 & 2)
TCRP Research Report 199: Transit Technical Training is a two-volume set that presents guidance on technical training programs and the implementation of those for transportation agencies.
The report’s first volume, Guide to Applying Best Practices and Sharing Resources, documents the best models of technical training programs serving U.S. and international transportation agencies and related industries.
The second volume, Guide to Overcoming Barriers to Implementing Best and Innovative Training, provides public transportation agencies with best practices, strategies, and resources to assist with the implementation of effective and innovative training programs and techniques for frontline employees.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
January 2018
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Safety and Health , Training and Development
TCRP Synthesis 126: Successful Practices and Training Initiatives to Reduce Accidents and Incidents at Transit Agencies
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 126: Successful Practices and Training Initiatives to Reduce Accidents and Incidents at Transit Agencies documents current practices and training initiatives, including bus operator training and retraining programs that have been effective in reducing accidents and incidents at transit agencies. The study also focuses on other system approaches that have been implemented to address safety hazards. These approaches include various technology applications, infrastructure modifications, and programs and initiatives such as driver incentive programs and close call/near miss reporting.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
January 2017
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
TCRP Synthesis 120: Use of Automotive Service Excellence Tests Within Transit
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 120: Use of Automotive Service Excellence Tests Within Transit documents how the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) program is accepted and used within the transit bus maintenance community. The ASE program is nationally recognized as the standard industry credential provider for automotive professionals. The report explores how a cross section of transit bus maintenance personnel view the ASE certification program and summarizes their perspectives to improve ASE certification acceptance and participation.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
January 2016
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
Preventing and Mitigating Transit Worker Assaults in the Bus and Rail Transit Industry
On October 28th and 29th, 2014, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator tasked the Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) with developing recommendations for FTA on the elements that should comprise a Safety Management System (SMS) approach to preventing and mitigating transit worker assaults. Representatives from state and local transportation agencies, labor unions, research organizations, and national transportation associations worked together to create recommendations for FTA to prevent assaults against transit workers. These recommendations address each aspect of the SMS approach, including policy, risk management, safety promotion, and safety assurance.
Transit Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS)
July 2015
TOPICS: Retention , Safety and Health
TCRP Synthesis 107: Rail Transit Track Inspection Practices
TRBs Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 107: TCRP Synthesis 107, Rail Transit Track Inspection Practices offers information across a range of older and newer U.S. rail transit agencies on track inspection practices and policies.
Issues addressed in the report include agency staffing, agency organization and characteristics, track inspection program criteria, training and certification, procurement, and track safety practices.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
January 2013
TOPICS: Procurement , Safety and Health , Training and Development
TCRP Synthesis 95: Practices for Wayside Rail Transit Worker Protection
TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 95: Practices for Wayside Rail Transit Worker Protection is designed to highlight knowledge, practice, lessons learned, and gaps in information related to wayside rail transit worker protection programs.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
January 2012
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
Bus Operator Restroom Use Case Study
In collaboration with the Bus Operator National Joint Training Standards Committee, the International Transportation Learning Center developed this Bus Operator Restroom Use report, a case study and compendium of practitioner resources on restroom use, including a history of restroom use policy at Minneapolis Metro Transit. The resources in this report also include a model community restroom licensing agreement, route-specific restroom locations chart, and example collective bargaining language.
International Transportation Learning Center
January 2012
TOPICS: Retention , Safety and Health , Training and Development
Addendum to the APTA Recommended Practice for Transit Bus Operator Training
This addendum was created by the Joint Labor Management National Bus Operator Standards Committee in Seattle, WA on October 12-14th 2011. This addendum was created to be considered for addition into the APTA RP for Transit Bus Operator Training.
The original recommended practice document is also available on the Resource Center, here.
Joint Labor Management National Bus Operator Standards Committee
October 2011
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
TCRP Synthesis 93: Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault: A Synthesis of Transit Practice
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Synthesis 93: Practices to Protect Bus Operators from Passenger Assault highlights practices and policies implemented by transit agencies to deter and mitigate assaults on bus operators.
Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP)
January 2011
TOPICS: Retention , Safety and Health
Electrical Standards Fundamentals
A document of electrical safety standards and fundamentals. The fundamentals include Electrons, Static Electricity, and Magnetic fields. It also covers how power is transmitted to buildings through the power grid and how grounding is built into delivery systems.
International Transportation Learning Center
January 2010
Signals Training Standards Curriculum Map
A curriculum map of the Signals Training Standards released on January 22, 2008.
International Transportation Learning Center
January 2008
APTA Recommended Practice for Transit Bus Operator Training
This recommended practice provides guidance for standardized transit operator training to assist in the development of professional bus operators resulting in quality service. Individual operating agencies can modify these guidelines to accommodate their specific training goals and operating modes.
American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
May 2007
TOPICS: Safety and Health , Training and Development
Electrified Transportation Pro+ Training and Certification Program
The objective of the Electrified Transportation Pro+ program is to ensure that all individuals across all transportation industries are trained in Electrified Vehicle Systems and Technologies consistently to one standard. The training is completed in preparation to perform the practical and written exams for earning the corresponding Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Certifications.
Electrified Transportation Pro+
Battery Electric Bus Familiarization Webinars
The Transportation Learning Center presents three distance-based courses to help transit bus technicians gain fundamental understanding of battery electric bus (BEB) technology. These courses are recorded from live online sessions.
In each session, experts from various BEB manufacturers presented on specific topics, with over 400 participants attending. Each session is introduced by John Schiavone, who moderated many questions from participants. Please click through the drop-down options below to view the recorded sessions, slides and presenters’ notes, and sample tests and test answers.
International Transportation Learning Center
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Joint Workforce Investment (JWI) Program
The Joint Workforce Investment (JWI), established in 2006, is a joint labor management partnership between the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 (ATU). Both organizations operate together as one “JWI” team. Three primary programs were brought together under the JWI initiative: the Maintenance Career Ladders Training Project (MCLTP), New Operator/Mentor Pilot Project, and Health and Wellness Project. This case study reviews details of the programs and data on their benefits.