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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
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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
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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
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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
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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

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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
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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
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How to Maintain a Frontline Workforce in 2022

TransitCenter
October 2022

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.

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.