A Day in the Life of a MTA Worker
“Yes, he still sees the Bronx with the traffic, garbage on the streets, and crazy people but he also sees a Bronx that has culture. Some people can't handle it but if you can handle being a bus driver for the Bronx you can handle just about anything.”
People, more specifically people who use public transport, have a strong opinion on MTA workers. They complain about stops being missed or delayed because it's the “MTA’s fault.”
We know the kind of people and things that we have to deal with on the bus as a rider — horrific smells, the possibility of assault, dense crowds, and more. But what do MTA workers have to deal with all day? They smell the same smells we smell, deal with the same rude adults and kids we deal with. Why are we blaming the MTA for these faults?
I have a family member that works for this type of transport: MTA Bus transport. He’s been there for 3 years, and in this time he has witnessed and experienced maybe every situation you can think of.
Before he even started driving buses, he used to work for Fedex, another big corporation. Although he liked his job there were downsides, like hating to go up the stairs because the elevator didn't work, or even getting sued because of the so-called abuse enforced because the dog bit you (yes, this has happened before).
After working for Fedex for 5 years he wanted something better for his family. Being influenced by his dad, who worked for the MTA as well, he realized that the MTA was a better fit. It’s better health insurance, competitive salary, job security, and more. I would pick MTA over Fedex salary any day.
I talked to him to understand what his life is like each day, and here is what he told me.
As an MTA worker he wakes up at 5:30 am, putting on the uniform, his blue MTA shirt, navy blue pants and black boots. He goes over to the bus depot by taking the 12 bus to the 1 train. He grabs his route sheet and scans what route he is on, the 9 bus as per usual.
The first few stops are pretty quiet because it's the morning and no one comes out around this time, but near 7 it starts to get hectic. With kids and adults running to get to school or work on time can be chaotic. He picked up a lady with a baby stroller, and typically this doesn't annoy him, but this time it was a little annoying because her stroller was huge and took up most of the space.
This is only the beginning. He starts to hear yelling like someone's arguing because 2 people fell on top of each other in the back, while in the front some guy is hogging the door, not letting people pass through creating traffic and delays. At this point the bus is like a pack of sardines. And people are staring at him like he’s the reason their bus is delayed.
After this chaotic morning the rest of the day is remotely smooth until a homeless man came into his bus, stinking it all up right before school ends (rush hour). Rush hour and the morning of a school day are probably the worst times of the day. It's always chaotic, crazy, wild, and never boring.
Overall this might be a casual day, but he does like his job believe it or not. Not because it pays good money but because it's a good view. Yes, he still sees the Bronx with the traffic, garbage on the streets, and crazy people but he also sees a Bronx that has culture. Some people can't handle it but if you can handle being a bus driver for the Bronx you can handle just about anything.
And this concludes the day in his life. Personally I wouldn't know how to survive in a job like this but I do have respect for those who do. Do you?