Buses, Trains and the Media

It's even tough to get a job as a transit bus operator!

How do you know when the unemployment situation is getting really dire? When transit agencies stop accepting applications for bus driver positions.

As folks who work in the transit industry know, recruiting bus operators can be a tough proposition during normal times. Although bus drivers who have several years of tenure can earn a decent income, the job can be incredibly demanding -- not only because you have to pilot a 40-foot bus through heavy traffic, but also because you occasionally have to deal with customers who are unruly, drunk, stupid or just plain mean.

With so many people out of work, however, a job behind the wheel of a transit bus doesn't seem like such a bad thing, as the folks at Coast Mountain Bus Co. in greater Vancouver, British Vancouver, have discovered. At a three-day job fair, they collected 1,500 applications, about three times more than normal and have temporarily stopped accepting more applications.

Here in the U.S., things are not much different.

Julia Best, an HR specialist at Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority in Cincinnati, said she's seen a nearly 300% increase in applications for bus operator positions, which offer a starting pay of $13.19 an hour. They are still accepting applications, however.

In Tampa, Fla., Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) has not been accepting applications for bus drivers for a few months now. Earlier this month, it did post a listing for bus operators on its website. In one week, it generated 92 applications. "All for four openings," said Walt Blichasz, HART's HR coordinator. "Overall, our application intake has been extreme, for any job posted."

And in California, the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District has seen three times as many applications during bus operator recruitments in the past several months and is not listing the opening on its website. 

Unfortunately, this silver lining has a dark cloud attached to it. Blichasz said he's concerned that some newly hired bus operators will quit their jobs once the economy recovers and more suitable positions become available. In the meantime, he said, HART will focus on hiring the best qualified candidates, especially those with exceptional customer service skills.

"We can and will train anyone to drive our vehicles," he said. "Without outstanding customer service skills, they could be the best driver in the world, but we will take a second look at them in lieu of someone who brings more customer service skills to the job."

What Walt's really saying is that they're looking for people who can handle customers who are unruly, drunk, stupid or just plain mean -- with a smile.

Until next time.

Steve

10 Great Transit Systems to Work For

OK. I said that I was done with the blog thing, but I'm coming out of retirement to post a list of 10 transit systems that have persuaded me that they are great places to work.

For the record, more than 200 transit systems in the U.S. and Canada were contacted to participate in this competition, which was sponsored by Metro Magazine and my company, TransitTalent.com. Of those, 37 actually submitted an application. Of those, 20 were selected as finalists. And, of those, 10 were chosen to be profiled based on their application form and an employee survey.

So, without further preamble, here's the list of "10 Great Transit Systems to Work For" (in alphabetical order):

1. Alexandria Transit Co. - Alexandria, Va.

2. Capital Area Transportation Authority - Lansing, Mich.

3. Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District - Urbana, Ill.

4. Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority - Dayton, Ohio

5. Greater Hartford Transit District - Hartford, Conn.

6. GRTC Transit System - Richmond, Va.

7. Orange County Transportation Authority - Orange, Calif.

8. Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada - Las Vegas

9. Riverside Transit Agency - Riverside, Calif.

10. Sunline Transit Agency - Thousand Palms, Calif.

I invite you to provide any feedback on my choices. As in most of these types of competition (e.g., Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For), there are usually dissenting opinions on the selections, especially from former employees.

Until next time.

Steve

PS: Looking for a career in transit? Check out the current job listings on my website.

The end of the line

Well, it sounded like a great idea . . . start a blog about public transportation and tie it in to my website and livelihood, TransitTalent.com. Problem is, I don't really like writing a blog and thus have relegated it to the bottom of my to-do list.

So, without further explanation or rationalization, this is my final post to Buses, Trains and the Media. I'd like to thank all of you who've visited over the past several months and especially those who've taken the time to post comments.

I can't promise that I won't return. For that reason, I'm not going to cancel this blog account. Every now and then I feel like I need to vent about a particular issue. The blog is a great place to do that. Isn't that why blogs are so popular?

Best,

Steve

Random psychopathic murders on buses are hard to prevent, but . . .

It's OK to be afraid. And profoundly disturbed. When you read about a man getting butchered and decapitated by his seatmate on a Greyhound bus.

And it's OK to expect the operators of intercity buses -- or transportation security officials -- to come up with a plan to reduce the chances of another such attack. What's not OK, in my opinion, is to take the stance of Canada's National Post editorial board, which contends this was a random attack, could have happened anywhere, best thing to do is move on with our lives. To wit:

Mr. McLean could have been murdered equally easily by a random psychopath in a movie theatre or a classroom or a wine bar or a shopping mall - or on his front lawn, for that matter.

I disagree. In a theatre or a classroom or a wine bar or a shopping mall, Mr. McLean could have run away, or tried to, after the first plunge of the knife. When you're confined to the window seat of a bus, blocked from the aisle by your seatmate, you have nowhere to run. Attacks on a bus -- or an airplane -- are particularly dangerous because you can't get away.

Certainly, the grisly nature of the killing has biased, partially or perhaps fully, my reaction to the National Post's reaction, but I think precautions could be taken to prevent future "random psychopath" murders.

How about allowing (or requiring) coach operators to carry pepper spray? In this latest incident, the driver might have been too late to save Mr. McLean's life, but in other scenarios, a blast of pepper spray could help to subdue an attacker before a life is lost. It would be interesting to see what intercity bus drivers think of this idea. Pepper spray could also be useful to protect themselves from passenger attacks.

We allow mail carriers to carry pepper spray to protect themselves from vicious dogs. Why shouldn't motorcoach drivers be allowed to carry pepper spray to protect themselves and their passengers? Or do some of them already carry pepper spray? If you know, please feel free to chime in.

Until next time.

Steve

Stand under the doorway until nothing happens

Warning: This post has nothing to do with buses or trains.

I was talking on the phone this morning when the floor in my home office started to shift. Then the walls starting swaying. About two seconds later, I realized that it was an earthquake. I told my acquaintance on the phone, who was safe and secure about 3,000 miles away in New Jersey, that I had to hang up because we were having an earthquake.

I got up from my desk and stood under the doorway for a few seconds just as the ground tremors subsided. Then I felt a little foolish and wished I'd just stayed at my desk and continued the phone call like nothing unusual was happening. I could have said, "Dave, hang on a sec, would you? Oh, OK, nothing to worry about it, we're just having an earthquake, probably about 5.0 on the Richter scale. No, need to hang up, I don't even bother worrying about an earthquake unless it reaches at least 6.0 or 6.5."

But I didn't. To be honest, I needed to get ready to meet someone for lunch anyway. The earthquake was as good an excuse as any to end the call. Living in Los Angeles does have its perks.

Until next time.

Steve

Is it a human mirror, or merely twins, on the subway?

As an identical twin, I felt compelled to include this video in my blog. I don't know if my twin brother, Doug, ever reads my postings here, but maybe he'll comment if he does.

When I used the phrase "merely twins" in the headline, I wasn't trying to be thoughtful or incisive. But, come to think of it, I don't consider myself special because I'm a twin. In fact, when I was growing up in San Jose, being an identical twin removed some of your specialness. For example, our neighbors often called my brother and I "twin" rather than Steve or Doug (I also have an older brother, Frank). That was because they couldn't tell us apart, of course, but it was one subtle suggestion that we were not unique. We were merely twins.

Anyway, I don't want to get too deep here. I enjoyed watching this video, despite my apparent ambivalence about being a twin. I hope you enjoy it too.

Until next time.

Steve

Tulsa Transit adds 10 bicycles to its bus fleet

One of the reasons many people don't use public transit is "the last mile" -- the distance between the starting point and the bus stop/rail station or between the bus stop/rail station and the destination. Of course, it could be more or less than a mile, but it's generally understood that it's a distance that most people would prefer not to walk.

But if you could ride a bicycle over this "last mile," then the route would not have to be as direct. Many people, in fact, do ride their bikes to the bus stop and use the bus' bike rack as well. These hardy souls are the exception, however.

To encourage more people to ride bikes to and from the bus stop, Tulsa Transit has implemented a pilot program called "Rack-N-Roll" that allows riders at a particular downtown bus station to borrow bikes for 24 hours. Currently, there are 10 bikes that can be checked out.

Tulsa Transit General Manager Bill Cartwright (pictured) said the 10 bikes, which cost a total of $3,000, are a "low-cost way to expand our routes." To read the full story, click here. What he'd really like to see is an expansion of the bus system. But with the economy the way it is and fuel prices the way they are, the bikes (seven men's models and three women's) are better than nothing.

Until next time.

Steve

 

Is there real danger on the bus from unruly teens?

Anyone who has taken the bus more than a few times has probably encountered obscenity-spewing, rough-housing teens who are either unaware that they're annoying others or don't care that they are. In some cases, they seem to enjoy the discomfort of fellow passengers.

Generally, they are ignored. Or, more accurately, put up with. Few people riding the bus want to take the risk of confronting them. Although the odds that a rebuke will lead to a physical conflict are relatively small, the reward is not great enough to justify the risk. Or is it?

Are these unruly teens actually dangerous? Or have we been brainwashed into believing that they are? I suspect that they're less dangerous than they appear, but do you want to be proven wrong in close quarters with fellow passengers who likely will not back you up?

Two men recently wrote about disturbing experiences on the bus involving teenagers. One of them described his nemesis as "the public rapper." The other described his three foes as "no older than 15, hissing, snarling... a general hindrance for everyone going about their everyday life."

The two men responded differently. The first, who had his 2-year-old daughter with him, asked the rapper to "watch your language, please." The other sat silently as the teens "menacingly taunted the poor bus driver."

You can't judge either of them for their actions, can you? The situations were quite different. Again, I suspect that we exaggerate the danger of unruly teenagers. But you only have to be wrong once to regret your decision for a long time.

Until next time.

Steve

Serphing the Internet can be disconcerting

I just learned about a website called Serph.com that allows you to "track buzz in real time." For example, you can type your name into the search box and get a list of pertinent blog postings, YouTube videos, websites, etc. that are percolating on the Internet.

It sounds better than it performs, though. I typed in "Steve Hirano" and got the following:

There were actually a few more listings, but none worth including in the image.

The first listing, My Favorite Car, is a blog that lists blog postings about cars. I happened to write a blog posting called "Travel decisions - car, plane or motorcoach? - are getting more complex" that was included in My Favorite Car on May 31.

The next two listings refer to YouTube videos that have nothing to do with me, beyond the fact that the lead guitarist is named Steve (Chang) and one of the tags is Hirano.

Finally, the last result apparently refers to a blog posting that I wrote called "Do looks really matter that much?" on April 9. It discusses the importance of a person's appearance in their career success. Strangely, the blurb on the Serph page touts the posting as a "great read"; however, the link goes to a directory of plastic surgeons, with no mention of my blog. I'm guessing that the website, celebsurgeon.com, has found a way to market itself by linking to as many sources that mention "plastic surgery" as it can. I'm discomforted by the fact that my blog posting is being used this way, but there's not much I can do.

So, how important is it to use sites like Serph to "track buzz" about you or your organization? I would say that it can't hurt to occasionally feed your name into the Search box, but I wouldn't spend too much on it because the results can be relatively useless and, sometimes, disconcerting.

Until next time.

Steve

Dying to be surveyed by a mortuary -- or a transit system?

People may be dying to get in, but funeral homes apparently want to poll them before they arrive.

I received two surveys today in the mail -- one from White & Day, Rice, McCormick & McMillan Mortuaries; the other from Fukui Mortuary (careful with the pronunciation!). Each one-page survey offered the same set of six questions regarding funeral planning. They obviously were created by the same marketing firm.

I normally don't open junk mail from funeral homes, but the fact that two letters arrived from different mortuaries on the same day made me curious. Was there something they knew that I didn't? I was relieved to discover that they were merely trying to gauge my desire to, among other things, "reduce the stress of last-minute decisions" and "confirm [my] wishes regarding public or private family viewing."

They also offered to provide a free estimate on funeral planning and to send a free copy of "Life's Passages Portfolio" for filling out and returning the questionnaire. Like most people, I don't enjoy confronting my mortality and will not be responding. But, honestly, I think the survey is a great idea. It's short, non-threatening (except for the fact that it's about death) and could entice some people into preparing for the Great Beyond (not a bad idea, really).

Transit systems should take note. Isn't this the perfect time to ask residents of your service area about their public transportation intentions? Wouldn't it be nice to know at what gasoline price point ($4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10) they will start using your system, if they're not already? And for what purpose . . . commuting only, off-peak day/night/weekend travel, etc.? If they don't plan to use your service, it might be nice to know why not. Also, since fare hikes seem to be in vogue, it might be good to ask their opinion about your fare structure. As gas prices go higher and higher, your fares become more and more reasonable to people who are ditching their cars and taking the bus or train.

This type of data could help transit systems "reduce the stress of last-minute decisions." Dying and running a public transportation system aren't so different, are they?

Until next time.

Steve