How To Become A Transit Bus Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a transit bus operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a transit bus operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $18.15 an hour? That's $37,749 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 32,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreTransit Bus OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,749

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.0

Growth Rate 5%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.15%

Asian 4.90%

Black or African American 25.13%

Hispanic or Latino 17.04%

Unknown 4.12%

White 47.66%

Gender

female 29.74%

male 70.26%

Age - 56

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 56

Stress Level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.8

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a transit bus operator

Explore transit bus operator education requirements

Most common transit bus operator degrees

High School Diploma

35.1 %

Associate

24.5 %

Bachelor's

22.3 %

Start to develop specific transit bus operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Transport Passengers	23.06%
CDL	14.14%
Post-Trip Inspections	7.48%
Safety Rules	6.57%
Customer Service	5.45%

Complete relevant transit bus operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New transit bus operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a transit bus operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real transit bus operator resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed transit bus operator usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed transit bus operator in most of states. 18 states require transit bus operators to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Kentucky	Specific course required	State exam required	School Bus Driver
Maryland	Specific course required	State exam required	BUS DRIVER, SCHOOL
Alaska	Specific course required	State exam required	Bus Driver, School
Idaho	-	State exam required	Commercial Drivers
Illinois	Specific course required	State exam required	COMMERCIAL DRIVER (TRUCK AND BUS OPERATOR)

Research transit bus operator duties and responsibilities

Maintain professionalism and upkeep cleanliness of assign bus.
Obtain information about children health history and allergies

Prepare your transit bus operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your transit bus operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a transit bus operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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