Class Is Part of a Push to Rebuild Front Line Workforce in Aftermath of Pandemic-Induced Hiring Freeze Last Year
New Bus Operators Join Hundreds of Bus Operators and Train Operators and Conductors Who Completed Training in 2021
View Photos from the Graduation Here
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that 74 newly trained bus operators graduated following their successful completion of training at the Zerega Training Center in Castle Hill in the Bronx.
These operators will help New York City Transit (NYCT) tackle crew shortage challenges and bolster the frequency of bus service. This marked the formal end of six weeks of intensive training that began in January 2022. The graduation took place as New York City Transit Bus and MTA Bus Company combined ridership hovers between 50 and 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
“A huge part of the city returning to normal is making sure New Yorkers have access to safe and reliable bus service,” said New York City Transit Interim President Craig Cipriano. “We are focused on increasing class sizes and improving recruiting so we can move more operators into the system more quickly to help us ensure that buses arrive more frequently."
“These operators will help address the staffing challenges we’ve experienced and provide increased service for New Yorkers,” said MTA Bus Company Acting President and New York City Transit Department of Buses Senior Vice President Frank Annicaro. “Our bus operators keep the city moving and I am excited to welcome this new group to our team.”
The new employees join the 405 bus operators, 302 train operators and 320 conductors who recently completed their training, and the hundreds of NYCT workers who are expected to be onboarded in the months ahead — part of a deliberate effort by the MTA to rapidly grow the number of bus operators, subway train operators and conductors. A hiring freeze, necessitated by a fiscal crisis that developed during the pandemic, depleted the ranks of bus operators with many veteran workers retiring or leaving their frontline posts.