North County Transit District hires 450 bus workers in management takeover
North County Transit District ended its yearslong management takeover of its bus and train lines by bringing contracted drivers maintenance technicians and other workers for its BREEZE bus system in house Now that the agency has direct control over these workers leadership hopes riders will see smoother commutes Photo courtesy of North County Transit District The North County Transit District says it has finished a years-long campaign to take direct control of its bus and train systems in a hiring spree revealed Sunday The agency declared that it hopes commuters will experience smoother and more efficient rides as a consequence The population transportation agency brought nearly contracted bus workers in house Sunday giving it direct control over the workers who drive and maintain its BREEZE bus fleet as well as its COASTER and SPRINTER train lines for the first time ever NCTD announced in a comment Financial challenges had previously forced the transit district to contract outside employees for its bus train and track teams while riders complained of staffing shortages infrequent organization and slow commutes The wave of new hires which includes bus drivers traffic controllers and maintenance technicians caps off the transit district s effort to make commutes more efficient by bringing hundreds of contracted workers in house The transit district already hired on previously outsourced workers for its sprawling train system in and after the agency s finances improved North County Transit District hasn t had direct control over its bus workers since because of financial challenges In the current era we celebrate the first time in years that all of our operations employees are together as part of one world-class gang the agency s CEO Officer Shawn M Donaghy explained in a June press release Photo courtesy North County Transit District Bringing our bus operations in-house is a pivotal step in strengthening the amenity we provide to our customers and reinforcing the lifestyle we want to build within our organization Chief Operating Officer Lilia Montoya explained This transition allows us to deliver a more consistent responsive and customer-focused experience while also creating a warm welcoming ecosystem for our group members The agency explained completion of this insourcing campaign marks a major milestone for the transit district which stopped directly hiring its bus workers in to avoid considerable provision cuts The agency never had direct control over its train workers until it started bringing them in-house three years ago After the effects of the pandemic slashed ridership the transit district has been seeing a rebound in new years Now that the agency is directly managing its workers the transit district hopes that riders will have smoother commutes By aligning our operations more closely with our agency values we are investing in both the people who power our operation and the communities we serve every day Montoya reported The transit district s BREEZE system provides buses for nearly people in North San Diego County and its COASTER train is a transit lifeline for commuters going along the coast between Oceanside and San Diego The agency s inland train line SPRINTER connects cities from Oceanside to Escondido along State Path
