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3 Ways to Make Bus Driving a Better Job
This report highlights ways that bus driving can be improved for workers to help increase retention and recruitment. The report explains three specific ways: redesigning the job for health and success, raising pay and creating opportunities for advancement, and making a more flexible schedule.
The National Campaign for Transit Justice
March 2024
Mentoring: A Tool for Employee Engagement & Retention
APTA’s podcast, The Transit Authority, presents a two-part series on mentoring. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) will discuss their partnerships with ATU to build and manage successful mentoring programs and how mentoring is a critical tool for knowledge transfer, positive work culture, and diverse perspectives.
American Public Transportation Association
January 2024
TOPICS: Career Pathways , Labor-Management Partnerships , Mentorship , Retention
Peer Mentoring Program Increases Retention and Decreases Absences of New Drivers
This case study from APTA’s Passenger Transport presents findings from the mentorship program at Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). GCRTA and ATU local 268 launched their Positive Impact Program, a peer mentoring program that has seen impacts on retention and absenteeism within its first nine months.
American Public Transportation Association
October 2023
TOPICS: Labor-Management Partnerships , Mentorship , Retention , Workforce Shortage
US Department of Labor Blog: Data Spotlight
This page on the US Department of Labor Blog features data spotlight articles by David Rosenblum which provide visualizations of Census Bureau data about different demographics in skilled trade professions.
US Department of Labor
September 2023
Microtransit Driver Stories
As part of the Mobility Innovation Collaborative, SUMC is sharing stories from mobility-on-demand drivers. These stories aim to capture and elevate perspectives from drivers across different transit agencies.
Shared-Use Mobility Center
TOPICS: Career Pathways
Driver Recruitment and Retention Strategies
This blog post from the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center discusses recruitment and retention strategies for transit agencies, particularly in regard to older and disabled workers in the face of industry-wide labor shortages. It includes examples of successful partnerships and effective mentoring programs.
National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
July 2023
Employers can support workers’ economic mobility and their own bottom lines
This article provides a concise description of several strategies employers can use to create clear advancement pathways in their workplaces, which will help attract and retain quality candidates. It discusses research around what modern-day employees are looking for in a workplace and a position. It also links to a related article, which provides an overview of the framework created by Jobs for the Future (JFF) to describe the components of a good job.
WorkRise
November 2022
How to Maintain a Frontline Workforce in 2022
TransitCenter
October 2022
TOPICS: Hiring and Recruitment , Retention
This blog post considers steps taken by transit agencies in New York City and San Diego in order to bolster and maintain their frontline workforces in the aftermath of the pandemic and years of labor shortages in the transit industry. The post describes actions like increasing wages, easing CDL requirements, and increasing recruitment efforts.
Steps for Transportation Workforce Diversity Outlined in TRB’s Research
This blog post highlights resources for improving inclusion and diversity in the transportation workforce.
Transportation Research Board
October 2022
Recruiting and Retaining the Best: Transit Workforce Best Practices
This blog post from Transportation for America details successful strategies and best practices employed by transit agencies to empower their operator and maintenance workforces.
Transportation for America
September 2022
How to Improve EV Battery Performance in Cold Weather
This article provides advice and recommendations to transit agencies for maintaining electric vehicle battery performance in cold weather.
Government Fleet
July 2022
TOPICS: Zero Emission Buses
Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace
These two resources provide insight for employers into what “invisible” or “hidden” disabilities are, how to provide opportunities for employees to voluntarily disclose them, and how to support individuals with such disabilities to be successful in the workplace.
BetterUp; SHRM
February 2022
Training and Apprenticeships to Address Transit Workforce Gaps
This piece, penned by Jack Clark of the International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC), explores the role of training and apprenticeship programs in meeting workforce needs in transit, with a focus on operators. It discusses a few leading examples of apprenticeship programs in transit, as well as the role of mentorship in a strong apprenticeship program.
Eno Center for Transporation
August 2019
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Career Pathways , Mentorship , Training
Tool for Measuring the Cost of Turnover
This Cost of Turnover Tool is a simple, “back of the envelope” calculator to help estimate how much it costs to replace staff. The tool can be useful for transit agencies looking to understand the costs of a low retention rate, or those looking to calculate the return-on-investment of mentoring or apprenticeship programs.
Aspen Institute
March 2019
TOPICS: Apprenticeship , Mentorship , Policy and Planning , Program Evaluation and ROI , Retention
Transit Career Stories
Transit Workforce Center
Drawn from the TWC Blog and Pulse Newsletter, these Transit Career Stories showcase workers’ journeys and career pathways to help increase awareness of transit careers. Learn from these professionals and community leaders through their own telling of what they do, how they got there, and what makes their work exciting and rewarding.
From Bus Driver to Finance Manager - Jerry Garcia's Drive to Succeed
Elevating Insights – ATU Local 689 Executive Board Member and Former WMATA Elevator/Escalator Journeyworker Leah Anderson
OT Orozco – Showcasing the Role of People With Disabilities in Transit
Rich Diaz – Embracing the Power of Mentorship
Dionna McCane – Mentoring With Heart
Gwendolen Gibson – A Rail Mechanic Leading the Way
Unbreakable Bond – An Apprentice Mechanic With the Drive to Succeed