February 2026

In This Issue:

Streamlining Bus Operator Hiring Practices — Initial Findings 

The Transit Workforce Center (TWC), in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), is conducting a research project on Streamlining Operator Hiring Practices. The objective of this project is to document current transit agency hiring processes for bus operators and produce new resources to support agencies’ bus operator hiring efforts. Current hiring processes can sometimes be lengthy, causing candidates to abandon the process in favor of other jobs and worsening operator shortages. This research maps typical steps and timelines and identifies promising practices that can help lead to shorter, more effective hiring processes. 

TWC received survey responses on bus operator hiring practices from 78 individuals representing 72 transit agencies across 29 states and territories. Thanks to all who participated!

Key findings: Among the responses, the average time between when a bus operator candidate submits an application and their employment start date was 52.5 days, with a median of 30 days. The higher average reflects a small number of outlier agencies with hiring processes lasting more than 120 days.

The four most commonly reported hiring bottlenecks were:

• Time between completion of pre-employment steps and start of paid training/onboarding (37.8% of respondents)
• Drug/alcohol testing (28.4% of respondents)
• Physical/medical examination (28.4% of respondents)
• Criminal background check (28.4% of respondents)

The survey results suggested the importance of addressing some of those bottlenecks, as there appears to be a relationship between longer hiring processes and a lower percentage of operator applicants ultimately hired.

The TWC research team is now beginning in-depth interviews with transit agencies to better understand these challenges and to collect best practices for addressing them. Stay tuned for insights and practical strategies to improve the hiring process. To learn more or ask questions, contact Shayna Gleason at sgleason@transportcenter.org and visit the Streamlining Operator Hiring Practices page.

Key Updates to the Transit Workforce Data Dashboard

This month, TWC updated the Transit Workforce Data Dashboard with the newest data release from the National Transit Database. The Dashboard now features employment statistics from 2024, as well as trends from 2018 to 2024. Recent years of data show that operations employment in directly operated transit services has increased steadily since 2021. Explore the Data Dashboard to review the trends and compare agency data.

Transit Career Stories Webpage Updates

TWC has newly refreshed the Transit Career Stories webpage to introduce a new section titled "Stories From Our Transit Peers." This section features articles from transit agencies and their partners that highlight the career journeys of frontline transit workers across the country.

To share information about a career that could be considered for a TWC Transit Career Story, or to suggest a story for the new section, please send details and relevant articles to careerstories@transportcenter.org. 

TWC Research Launches Metrics Monday Blog Series

In January, TWC published the first post in a new blog series, “Metrics Monday.” Periodically, the series will highlight the importance and usefulness of metrics across a variety of workforce areas. The first post explains how workforce data can strengthen recruitment and hiring and details several specific metrics and insights from CapMetro’s (Austin) experience.

Your Chance to Host a TC3 Program Pilot

The Transit Workforce Center (TWC) is launching the Transit Core Competencies Curriculum (TC3), a significantly updated and nationally designed skills development program designed to help transit agencies attract, prepare, and strengthen their frontline workforce. TC3 offers freely available, modular, and ready-to-use courses that build foundational technical skills in electrical, mechanical, and basic computer topics, along with industry awareness and essential soft skills for operators and mechanics. Developed with input from industry subject-matter experts, these courses support onboarding, upskilling, and long-term career growth across transit operations and maintenance roles.

We are currently seeking agencies interested in hosting pilot sessions, with electrical training as the immediate priority and additional opportunities in mechanical, computers, industry awareness, and soft skills. Host agencies will receive complete pilot delivery from TWC at no cost and will help play a critical role in shaping nationally vetted program materials for the transit industry. The length of the pilot will depend on the topics chosen in collaborative discussions and agency needs. 

Pilot agencies should be able to provide:

• Classroom space
• Access to basic equipment relevant to the course topic (where applicable)
• Cohort of frontline employees (typically around 8-10 participants) that have limited electrical experience; agencies can also join together to meet the minimum participant requirement. 
• Participants who will fully participate in course delivery, pre/post assessments, and structured feedback sessions to help refine and strengthen the curriculum.



If your agency is interested in a program that strengthens your workforce's technical and professional competencies, while also helping advance a significant national initiative, please contact Kristen Ribaudo at kribaudo@transportcenter.org for more information.

National RTAP Artificial Intelligence Use in Transit Survey

National RTAP, FTA's technical assistance center for enhancing the safety and effectiveness of public transportation for rural and tribal transit programs, is developing a technical brief on understanding artificial intelligence and how it can be used in transit. It is asking transit agencies to complete a very brief survey about their use of this technology. The survey is anonymous and will only be used to help shape their technical brief. If you have any questions, please contact info@nationalrtap.org. Thank you!

Upcoming Transit Events With TWC Presentations

APTA Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience Workshop—February 22-25 in Savannah, GA: TWC will participate in the "Recruitment & Retention" workshop, presenting "Recruitment Messaging that Resonates: Insights into Attracting Frontline Transit Workers."

Transit Retreat—March 4-5 in Mobile, AL: TWC will join an informational session with other technical assistance centers and hold two workshops, one on reaching out to “next-gen” youth on transit careers and the other on TWC’s newly redesigned and expanded career awareness and foundational skills program, Transit Core Competencies Curriculum (TC3).

SWTA & New Mexico Joint Annual Conference & Expo—March 30-April 2 in Albuquerque, NM: TWC will present "Foundational Skills to Bridge the Gap: A Transit Core Competencies Program for Strengthening the Workforce."

Arizona’s 39th Annual Statewide Transit Conference—April 6-8 in Mesa, AZ: TWC will share an overview of the technical assistance the center offers at the conference plenary, lead a morning-long workshop on a full range of workforce development issues, and conduct a workshop on mentorship programs. 

Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association—April 20-23 in Lancaster, PA: TWC will lead a session on bus operator mentorship benefits, "Behind the Wheel & Back Tomorrow: Best Practices for Driver Recruitment & Retention." TWC will also present a brief "Learning Lab," focusing on TWC’s newly redesigned and expanded career awareness and foundational skills program, Transit Core Competencies Curriculum (TC3).

CTAA Expo—May 10-13 in Omaha, NE: TWC will share results on the Research Team's "Streamlining Bus Operator Hiring Practices" research report.

By the Numbers 

Since TWC’s launch in Sept. 2021, there have been over 250,000 views of transitworkforce.org, with over 38,000 views of the Frontline Worker Recruitment Campaign and associated pages. The team has completed over 850 individual targeted technical assistance requests from transit agencies and partners. In addition, over 14,000 total participants have been served through TWC’s hosting of or participation in industry events, including the 2022 and 2024 Making Connections conferences. 

Out and About

TWC team members frequently travel to industry events around the country to present, share resources, and engage with industry stakeholders. To request TWC's participation in an event, please send an email to twc@transportcenter.org. Here are some examples of where the TWC team has been and what they have been doing off-site and online:

November

• Leading up to Veterans Day, TWC hosted a webinar titled “Continuing to Serve—Veterans' Transit Career Routes.” The session, facilitated by Alashia Bryant, Annmarie Carmody, and Shayna Gleason, focused on the value and experience veterans bring to the public transit industry, the career trajectories they can pursue, and effective strategies for launching veteran-focused outreach and recruitment programs. Several veterans from the webinar were also featured in a recent Transit Career Story about their career journeys from the military to public transportation.
• Maurice Beard participated in a panel discussion titled “From Shortages to Solution: Creative Fixes for Fleet and Driver Challenges” at the Georgia Transit Association’s Conference in Augusta, GA. Maurice's presentation focused on the benefits of implementing mentorship and apprenticeship programs and highlighted the resources and services available on TWC’s website. 
• Amri Joyner and Brandon Liu delivered a Train-the-Trainer Level 1 course at the University of Maryland (UMD) Shuttle Bus Facility. Throughout the course, participants strengthened their skills in designing lesson plans, engaging adult learners, and structuring effective training sessions. 
• Maurice Beard was invited to lead a virtual discussion at Contra Costa County’s quarterly Youth Committee Workforce Development Board meeting. Maurice discussed new technologies, diverse career pathways, and the urgent need to fill projected vacancies to support viable careers. 

December

• Shayna Gleason presented at the 6th National Rural Transit Assistance Program (National RTAP) Conference in Austin, TX. Shayna discussed career pathways available to military veterans in transit and how transit agencies can support veteran recruitment. 

January

• Maurice Beard, Shayna Gleason, and Karitsa Holdzkom co-hosted the National Rural Transit Assistance Program’s (National RTAP) LinkedIn Learnalong on coaching and mentoring. Participants watched instructional videos and engaged in an online LinkedIn discussion on best practices and lessons learned. 
• Michaela Boneva, Shayna Gleason, and Doug Nevins presented at the Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) 2026 Annual Meeting during a session titled “Unlocking Transit Workforce Trends.” The team shared insights from national labor and transit datasets, along with early findings from TWC’s research on bus operator hiring practices. 
• Maurice Beard attended the 8th edition of the Autonomous Vehicles and Public Transport Conference in San Francisco. The conference brought together innovators, policymakers, and advocacy groups to discuss the integration of autonomous vehicles. 

The Transit Workforce Center is FTA’s technical assistance center for frontline workforce development, operated by the International Transportation Learning Center. For any technical assistance requests, contact us at 1-855-888-NTWC or twc@transportcenter.org. 

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