What does a transit driver do?
A Transit Driver is tasked with driving passengers on already predetermined and specific routes along suburban or city streets and ensuring that they get to their destinations. He/She typically collects bus fares or tickets from passengers, answers questions on schedules and routes, and reports any traffic disruption or accidents to a central dispatcher. Aside from driving, you will need to also carry out routine check-ups of your bus tires, lights, oil, as well as perform other basic maintenance. You will also need to keep passengers informed of delays.
Transit driver responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real transit driver resumes:
- Accomplish CDL license with endorsement in doubles/triples.
- Obtain full first aid and CPR training.
- Well verse with first aid and CPR techniques.
- Train new drivers on routes and for require testing for CDL.
- Inform and train clients with GPS protocol and designate pick up and drop off points.
- Respond to medical emergencies include administering first-aid and relay requests for services and transportation of patients to medical emergencies or appointments.
- Deliver customers to their destination/homes/doorsteps with luggage/baggage groceries
Transit driver skills and personality traits
We calculated that 20% of Transit Drivers are proficient in Reliable Transportation, CDL, and Defensive Driving. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dependability, Initiative, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Transit Drivers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Reliable Transportation, 20%
Provided the students, staff and faculty of East Carolina University with safe and reliable transportation to their homes/residencies or vehicles.
- CDL, 15%
Earned a Class B CDL with air brake and passenger endorsement.
- Defensive Driving, 12%
Employed all techniques of defensive driving to minimize the risk of accidents and passenger injuries.
- Passenger Endorsement, 5%
Obtained a class C commercial Driver's License with a passenger endorsement.Leadership Skills:
- Safety Standards, 5%
Attended regular safety seminars to maintain current safety standards.
- CPR, 3%
Complete required classes CPR, First Aid, and DIP.
Most transit drivers use their skills in "reliable transportation," "cdl," and "defensive driving" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential transit driver responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. This is an important skill for transit drivers to perform their duties. For an example of how transit driver responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "bus drivers regularly interact with passengers and must be courteous and helpful." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a transit driver: "communicated all emergencies, delays due to weather and bus schedule changes to customers and supervisors. ".
Patience. For certain transit driver responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "patience." The day-to-day duties of a transit driver rely on this skill, as "because of possible traffic congestion and sometimes unruly passengers, bus drivers are put in stressful situations and must remain calm and continue to operate their bus." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what transit drivers do: "delivered customers' orders safely and swiftly dealt with customer complaints with respect and patience. "
Hearing ability. Another crucial skill for a transit driver to carry out their responsibilities is "hearing ability." A big part of what transit drivers relies on this skill, since "bus drivers need good hearing." How this skill relates to transit driver duties can be seen in an example from a transit driver resume snippet: "provided clients with transportation to their medical appointments including therapy, dentistry, hearing and dialysis. "
Physical health. Another skill commonly found on transit driver job descriptions is "physical health." It can come up quite often in transit driver duties, since "federal and state regulations do not allow people to become bus drivers if they have a medical condition, such as high blood pressure or epilepsy, which may interfere with their operation of a bus." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day transit driver responsibilities: "offer mta mobility transportation service to individuals with physical, mental disabilities, and state employees. "
The three companies that hire the most transit drivers are:
- National Express67 transit drivers jobs
- Hire Velocity15 transit drivers jobs
- National Express Transit
8 transit drivers jobs
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Compare different transit drivers
Transit driver vs. Motor coach operator
Bus operators have different roles and responsibilities. These include providing bus driver training, ensuring all drivers have a valid license, and conducting an audit of the bus drivers' performance periodically. To accomplish these responsibilities, a bus operator should possess specific skills, including customer service skills, hearing ability, and hand-eye coordination. There are several qualifications to become a transit bus operator, including having a commercial driver's license, experience in a relevant job, or as a bus operator.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between transit drivers and motor coach operator. For instance, transit driver responsibilities require skills such as "reliable transportation," "defensive driving," "safety standards," and "cpr." Whereas a motor coach operator is skilled in "dot," "safety rules," "otr," and "professional appearance." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Motor coach operators tend to reach similar levels of education than transit drivers. In fact, motor coach operators are 1.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Transit driver vs. Coach operator
Each career also uses different skills, according to real transit driver resumes. While transit driver responsibilities can utilize skills like "reliable transportation," "safety standards," "cpr," and "medical appointments," coach operators use skills like "safety rules," "dot," "city bus," and "direct reports."
On average, coach operators earn a higher salary than transit drivers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, coach operators earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $62,006. Whereas transit drivers have higher pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $37,634.coach operators earn similar levels of education than transit drivers in general. They're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Transit driver vs. Bus operator
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from transit driver resumes include skills like "reliable transportation," "safety standards," "cpr," and "medical appointments," whereas a bus operator is more likely to list skills in "safety rules," "vehicle inspections," "local traffic regulations," and "safety procedures. "
Bus operators make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $40,248. On the other hand, transit drivers are paid the highest salary in the transportation industry, with average annual pay of $37,634.When it comes to education, bus operators tend to earn similar degree levels compared to transit drivers. In fact, they're 0.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Transit driver vs. Transit coach operator
Even though a few skill sets overlap between transit drivers and transit coach operators, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a transit driver might have more use for skills like "reliable transportation," "defensive driving," "passenger endorsement," and "safety standards." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of transit coach operators require skills like "patients," "home health," "quality care," and "care coordination. "
Transit coach operators reach higher levels of education compared to transit drivers, in general. The difference is that they're 18.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of transit driver
Updated January 8, 2025
