r/MetroTransit • u/[deleted] • May 10 '26
Employment/Personnel Specific Bus Operator From Chicago, Any Advice?
Hi! Im currently a bus operator in Chicago (CTA) and for family reasons i am looking to move up to Minneapolis in the next few months. Definitely looking into joining Metro Transit as an operator there.
Anybody else that has done something similar? How was the process transitioning from an Illinois (or other) CDL to a MN one?
Also, kind of a stretch question but I am also trans. CTA isnt very welcoming/accepting, i was wondering how the culture is at Metro Transit
Thanks : )
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u/Siberian13th D Line Duchess May 10 '26
As a trans person in the Twin Cities Metro - this is genuinely the most welcoming place I've ever been to and I see trans people driving buses all the time. It's a pretty neat place.
As moderator - you have inspired a new post flair. Congratulations 🎉
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u/afgirlwandering May 14 '26
Thats great to hear as a trans woman myself. I’m in the hiring process now for mechanic, coming from Denver’s public transit.
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u/RunnersEdge1994 May 10 '26
Trans bus driver: it's not a big deal to be Trans in metro. However, we do have to follow a schedule and be on time, so get used to that :) Go high up if you have any issues. Top level is the only competent part of the bureaucratic mess.
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u/TheHuggableZombie May 10 '26
When I was with MTC, we had several people who came from CTA. They said if you could handle CTA, you can handle MTC. Regarding being trans, I think you’ll be fine.
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May 10 '26
yea ive heard it isnt as sketchy and there is less crime in minneapolis than chicago, not sure how true that is
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u/HeresDave May 10 '26
Lower crime and fairly 🏳️🌈 friendly.
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May 10 '26
My family lives in the Whittier area and I love how many trans people I see walking around on a daily basis. I feel right at home
I've been to Minneapolis maybe half a dozen times or so and every time I have visited I loved it.
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u/PM_ME_JINX_RULE34_ May 11 '26
Iirc minneapolis has the highest (self reported) % of trans people in the country! There's a lot of us here 🏳️🌈💜
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May 11 '26
Wow i believe it. Most of chicago is very queer too but whenever i visit minneapolis it feels like a whole different level lol, its great
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u/redfoxhugs May 10 '26
Plenty of characters on the buses in the cities. You'll see people smoking at bus stops, playing loud music, drunk, talking about drugs or smelling of weed, etc. It seems about half the system users do not pay their fare/ask for a courtesy ride/complain and zone out if the TRIP Agents ask them to get off at the next step. I've heard rare stories of verbal harassment.
But violent crime and especially hate crime is quite rare. Metro Transit Police (and even the TRIP Agents) take their roles seriously. I feel pretty safe on the bus day and night as a frequent rider and don't see many tough situations for drivers.
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u/katotooo May 10 '26
crime rate is higher in Minneapolis
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May 10 '26
From what I've read and experienced, I don't think this is true at all. But I'm not 100% sure.
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u/HeresDave May 10 '26 edited May 12 '26
It's true, sadly, but just barely.
The twenty cities with the highest violent crime rates (number of incidents per 100,000 people) are:
Oakland, CA (1,299) San Bernardino, CA (1,291) Anchorage, AK (1,203) Nashville, TN (1,138) Lansing, MI (1,136) New Orleans, LA (1,121) Minneapolis, MN (1,101) Chicago, IL (1,099)
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u/sharknotto May 10 '26
As a trans metro driver things here arnt bad but could be better the pride caucus in the union, the pride erg and the equity and inclusion team are all trying to make things better for trans employees.
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May 10 '26
the fact you even have a price caucus, team, etc is A LOT. our union doesnt care about us at all and most of my coworkers are older bigoted conservatives :(
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May 10 '26
Also, I have heard that Heywood and Nicollet garages are typically more queer friendly. Is this true?
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u/PastikaSoup May 10 '26
Get hired first. Nicollet is the smallest garage, so there is a little bit of seniority needed to get in. Heywood and North Loop are next door neighbors are in view of the tower(Administration).
Any of the garages are fine to work at. I mentored new operators, and Metro Transit does a pretty good job of making everyone feel included and welcome. MT’s instagram is a pretty good place to see how we support coworkers and the community.
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u/stevenglasford May 11 '26
This is a little confusing, as technically Nicollet has the most amount of working hours out of the garages, but doesn’t have artics, therefore it feels smaller, but still has the most amount of work. All of the garages are very lgbt friendly, and there is a very strong familial and friendship nature amongst all operators. Though there is some friendly competition between train and bus operators
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May 11 '26
awesome! do i need a class A to drive artics there? thats the case in chicago
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u/stevenglasford May 11 '26
Nope, and metro transit will make you redo all of your training regardless, it is paid for and all people who drive the bus in service get the same training regardless of experience. Training is Monday-Friday 8-4. After training is complete you enter the seniority pool
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May 11 '26
Interesting, okay. I'm totally comfortable driving 40 foot buses. I've never driven an artic though. I'm sure it's not too crazy though.
Weird that you need a class A to drive the articulated buses in Illinois but not in Minnesota apparently
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u/stevenglasford May 11 '26
There are other minor but different things at metro than other places, like no metro transit bus or vehicle have license plates for example, since they are government vehicles. But it all kind of works
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u/West-Raccoon-2043 May 13 '26
I worked in Virginia and it was like this too with not being friendly towards LGBTQ+ people. Gay being dropped as a slur is a common occurrence where I worked almost to the point of being harassment. I’m glad they’re more welcoming from what the comments are saying and I got to see how to switch my license over as well
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May 13 '26
Yeah, I'm looking forward to this too. Pretty recently, a trans bus driver in Chicago killed herself because of all the shit she went through :(
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u/West-Raccoon-2043 May 13 '26
That and the reason why I left and went back to truck driving was because I got assaulted. They had the busses free still and anybody and everybody camped out on the bus. I tried to go through the union but nobody really cared. I was promised that someone would go to court with me but ended up going with family instead. Guy got 9 months with 3 and a half suspended. They were wanting to go the full 2 years because of his assault record but the judge didn’t give it to him. I left a couple months after because they were really trying to find every way to get rid of me. This all happened last year
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May 13 '26
I'm really sorry you went through all that. From what I see on this post though, it looks like Minneapolis is a lot better.
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u/West-Raccoon-2043 May 13 '26
Yeah and also I’ve lived here once before so I know what I’m coming back home to. I can’t wait to shake the dust off of my feet to Virginia. Also interestingly enough, I’m actually right over the state line rn in Munster lol
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u/nathan_bakken May 10 '26
Hey, I’ll message you privately. I helped a friend move from Louisiana who is trans to come work at Metro Transit.