When the pandemic hit in 2020, DART offered a voluntary retirement plan that reduced its workforce by 10% and then instituted a hiring freeze. As the crisis abated the agency undertook a major bus system redesign which required about 200 new operators.

It was time for a multifaceted approach. The agency began working on creating more entry-level jobs across the organization in order to tap into its pipeline of university talent and former interns.

To attract operators, DART started offering sign-on bonuses, relocation expenses, and referral bonuses, and raised its starting operator pay. It also resumed face-to-face recruiting efforts. The agency also drastically sped up its hiring process to create “one-stop shopping” for job applicants, streamlining as many steps as possible.

These hiring efforts were successful. DART staff members were all marching toward that same goal. Everybody was on the same page in order to make it work.

Read the article on page 14 of APTA’s How to Recruit and Hire Transit Workers guide.