Welcome to Forum Vancouver, an online discussion community for Metro Vancouver Hide
We have message boards for you to chat about shopping, community events, places to eat, things to do and much more!
Consider helping our forum grow by sharing your knowledge about living in the Greater Vancouver area.

is free and only takes a few moments to complete.

TRANSIT hiring anytime soon?

Discussion in 'Employment and Students' started by Mike, Jan 1, 2013.

  1. Mike

    Mike Junior Member

    Just wondering if there is anything new with Transit. I've just quit my job as a tour bus driver. Been doing that for 2.5 years. Want to work with transit!!!!! If I can't get on with transit I can work for Charter Bus Lines. I really want to work for transit, two years as tour operator and its not eat going away on your for days on end. These funding issues! Geeez. Let me know anyone who might know something.
     
  2. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    Hiring Freeze in effect at Coast Mountain Bus Company, since last summer... Looking for $30,000,000.00 a year in savings...
    Closed the companies 2 cafeterias and laid off some staff....
    Offered up "Early Retirement" Incentives to all NON driving staff...
    Eliminated 60 Maintenance/trades positions....
    Reduced the number of road supervisors and Operations Supervisors... And training staff...
    Have been training some existing "Shuttle" drivers to become "Conventional" Transit operators... Just to keep up with retirees and the like....
    Plans on finally closing Oakridge and North Van depots in 2014, and replacing them with a new depot in Hamilton-east Richmond...
    SeaBus to get another new vessel, to replace one of the 35 year old original vessels...
    Next budget year starts April 1...

    BC Transit-Victoria has been accepting applications all along...

    ProTransBC/Canada Line has had a posting up looking to hire 4 more CANADA LINE ATTENDANTS, $25 an hour to start...

    Transit Police is still hiring new constables....
     
  3. Mike

    Mike Junior Member

    Hi Superchecker

    Yeah I know all that stuff. Ive been reading all the posts. I guess to my disappointment nothing has changed since then, which was what I wanted to know.
    Thankf for all the info SuperChecker
     
  4. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    Why not apply to BC Transit in Victoria?
     
  5. Mike

    Mike Junior Member

    Hahaha. Because I'd have to haul my family to Victoria! We don't want to live there.
    Maybe ill apply at protrans or something. Thanks for your help guys
     
  6. Mike

    Mike Junior Member

    Hi SuperChecker

    Just applied for Canada Line attendant at Protrans. Do you know anything about that and whether or not it involves operating the trains? I DID read the job description and it only said 'training' on manual operation of trains. But I'm not sure if that means driving them. Is there actually a train operator position at protrans? Think I've could work up to it or does it require certain experience I don't have.
    Should tell you. I'm 28 years old. Have worked for the past two years for Canada West Coachlines out of Kamloops. Often take charters to Vancouver. Me and my wife want to move somewhere close to the big city. She's chinese so it's what we want as a family. As a motor coach operator I've taken full group tour "un escorted by tour guide" (meaning I'm the driver AND tour guide) to casinos on multi day trips. Obviously I'm multi faceted because we also do charter work. The last two years I've been the designated driver for kamloops blazer WHL hockey team. Also greyhound borrows us drivers to do scheduled runs through the peak season. Anyway. That's where I'm at.
    The reason I don't stay with the tour bus industry is the pay is too low. Also in the slow season like now January, my pay cheque is rubbing two pennies together. I've got a wife and two kids to support. Would love the challenge a transit operator offers.

    Thanks for listening.
    Mike
     
  7. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    Hi Mike, I know very little about ProTransBC... I know that they are the Public/Private Partner with TransLink, and they are under contract to operate the Canada Line for the forseeable future...
    Their employees are unionized, and belong to the BCGEU.
    They get most benefits BUT as far as I know, they do NOT get a Transit pass?
    I would think that in an emergency, a CANADA LINE ATTENDANT would be able to manually drive a train to get it out of the way, or into the next station... Otherwise, the trains are computer controlled...

    Coast Mountain Bus was gearing up to hire 300 new Operators last year (approx 14 every 2 weeks), and then came the funding crunch, and CMBC was forced to find $30,000,000.00 in savings...
    All "planned expansion" and "increased services" were put on hold...
    Planning and Scheduling were told to do more with less, as in cutting some of the least used service hours, and re-deploying them into the busiest routes...
    If you didn't already know, the "U-Pass" bus pass program for all post secondary students has put a tremendous strain on all routes serving the various institutions....
    The #49 route (UBC-LANGARA-METROTOWN) has the highest number of recorded pass ups!
    CMBC will need to hire more drives at some point. They might start out with hiring more "Shuttle" drivers, as they are currently taking existing Shuttle drivers and upgrading their training to become Conventional Operators....
    Shuttle drivers often start out as Part Time or even just Casual, make less than Conventional, and get less benefits... Plus they work across the entire region, where as Conventional Ops work out of just one depot.
    All I can really say is to "Don't give up", they will need to hire at some point... I believe that there are a number of applicants that have already gone thru most of the hiring process, and are simply waiting for training classes to begin...
    Keep your eye on the websites... Maybe get in touch with HR (604-953-3000 and ask for HR)(They used to have a recorded JobLine 604-953-3025?)

    The new #555 bus route across the Port Mann bridge started running last month, and the new #96-B-Line route in Surrey is set to start later on this year (Sept?)...

    We've been without a new collective agreement/contract since last March 31...
    Last raise was April 2010...

    Another website to keep an eye on is West Vancouver. They operate the Blue Buses, and sometimes need new staff...
     
  8. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    Conventional Operator Trainees (All new drivers) start out at Vancouver Transit Centre (Marpole). Training lasts approx 6 weeks: 3-4 weeks of learning the air brake system/classroom training, as well as out driving the various vehicles NOT IN SERVICE, and finally a road test to get your class #2 licence... Lots to absorb in just a few weeks.. Lots of homework and classroom quizes/tests along the way... then 2 weeks of "Line Training", each day out with a regular operator, working his or her shift... early shifts, late shifts, split shifts, the whole shibang... Trolley routes, diesel routes...
    With increasing seniority comes the opportunity to change depots (if you desire to change depots). Currently we have: Burnaby, North Vancouver, Richmond, Port Coquitlam and Surrey, and of course Vancouver... Surrey tends to be the most senior depot- hardest one to switch out to. Plans call for the closure of North Van (& Oakridge- shuttle buses) in 2014, and to move into the yet to be built "Hamilton" depot near Westminster Highway and Boundary Road, on the Richmond- New Westminster border....
    Training rates as of April 2010 are as follows: Conventional Operators $20.44 an hr, and Shuttle Operators $17.57 an hr...
    Conventional Operators work a minimum 7.5 hrs a day= 37.5 hrs a week...
    3 weeks vacation, with options for up to 4 more weeks per year (2 weeks of Banked Stats, and 2 weeks of banked Overtime).
    Approx 20% of the shifts out in Burnaby are of the longer-Compressed work week. Work 4 days a week of 9+ hours a day... 3 days off per week...
    Richmond depot had that too for a litle while, but it got voted out by it's members....
    Most maintenance/trades positions are also on that 4 day work week too...
    We pick our shifts 4 times a year, with sheet changes usually occuring Mid April, end of June, Labour day and mid December....
     
  9. milquetoast

    milquetoast Senior Member

    Good luck, Mike.
     
  10. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    **NEW POSTING/OPPORTUNITY***
    Cloverdale based "MVT Canadian Bus" is the company that operates the regions HandyDart service, under contract with TransLink...

    They just posted a new job posting looking to hire/fill 4-CASUAL CALL CENTRE STAFF positions.... Union wages...

    http://mvtcanada.com/careers/index.htm OR via the CAREERS PAGE over at www.translink.ca and scroll down to MVT Canada/HandyDart link....
     
  11. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    Hi Mike, I'm going to ramble on a bit here, just ignore anything that isn't what you are looking for:

    You might consider looking for just about any decent paying opportunity, even "Seasonal/Temporary", just until CMBC starts hiring again...

    metrovancouver.org has their annual seasonal/temporary PARK WORKER & PARK PATROLLER opportunities listed now thru the end of Feb. They start at $25 an hour!

    BC Ferries will be posting their seasonal/Casual opportunities shortly too... Numerous opportunities, as well as numerous work locations along the coast...

    City of Surrey has already posted some of their seasonal/summer opportunities: LABOURERS, COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSISTANTS, CLERICAL & FACILITY ATTENDANTS...
    Other regional cities and municipalities will also be posting their seasonal needs shortly too.... Check each one individually, or many are also linked at www.civicinfo.bc.ca/16.asp ALSO: check more than just once! Opportunities come and go almost daily, and many only get posted for like 5 business days....

    I know they don't pay great, but Casinos are almost always hiring??? Approx half fall under GREAT CANADIAN CASINOS, and the other half: GATEWAY CASINOS... EDGEWATER (downtown) has their own website... 24 hour operations....

    Brinks.ca had about a half dozen job titles listed last week??? I saw one of the armoured cars driving around and it said NOW HIRING on the back...

    Canada Post? City of Vancouver? City of Burnaby?

    Cruise ship season starts late April: Canada Place? Port of Vancouver? Tourism Vancouver? The various charter bus companies? The individual cruise lines?

    MVT Canadian Bus (HandyDart) has just added a posting for 4- CASUAL CALL CENTRE staff memebers... They are out in Cloverdale, near Hwys' 10 & 15....

    BC Government will be hiring ELECTIONS staff shortly, for the May 2013 provincial election?
     
  12. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    WEST VANCOUVER has their annual posting up NOW for TRANSIT OPERATORS- CONVENTIONAL-TEMPORARY-SUMMER,
    Training wages start at $16.42 an hour, and then jump to $20.53 an hour with regular raises over 24 month up to $27.37 an hour, 40 hour work week...

    Click onto CAREERS at the bottom of the www.westvancouver.ca website, or I also found a link over at www.civicinfo.bc.ca/16.asp
     
  13. Mike

    Mike Junior Member

    Thanks. Still haven't heard. Although bell recently shut my phone service off, so I'm screwed out of that job. Also after figuring out more about the job; it's not really what I'm looking for. I've applied for transit on the 15th of January but haven't heard anything yet!
     
  14. ca_FTW

    ca_FTW Junior Member

    When i applied back in January 2012, i didnt hear back from them for over a month and a bit, and then they scheduled the Video test another month after that..

    So i wouldnt worry about not hearing from then yet.
     
  15. Superchecker

    Superchecker Active Member

    If you go to the Careers Page over at www.translink.ca Up comes 25 job postings, JUST AT TransLink!

    CLICK onto Coast Mountain Bus Company for THEIR job postings INCLUDING both Driving opportunities!

    CLICK onto BCRTC for their 10 job postings!

    Click onto Transit Police; AirCare & HandyDART each for their current postings!

    Opportunities come and go, almost daily....

    www.protransbc.ca/ for Canada Line job opportunities...

    www.westvancouver.ca/ for their job postings too!
     

Share This Page