PSTA Hosts Media Day to Hire More Bus Operators

Target Audience: PSTA hosted Media Day to draw in new applicants to join our team of bus operators.

Strategy Objective:Our goal was to quickly hire as many bus operators as possible to minimize interruptions to service. We wanted to show how easy it was to learn to drive a bus, so it didn't seem like such an intimidating option for those looking for work.

Situation Challenge: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PSTA experienced a bus operator shortage. We knew now more than ever community members and essential workers were relying on us to keep life as close to normal as possible. To draw attention to the career opportunity and incentivize applications, we invited news outlets to come to PSTA and have their reporters learn how to drive a bus! Our goal was to show that, with the right training, operating a bus is a viable career opportunity for anyone.

Results Impact: This special event day was widely successful! Thanks to all the news coverage, PSTA received 82 applications in just one week. Of those applications, nearly half resulted in full-time hires.

Why Submit: The pandemic has caused a dramatic bus operator shortage across the country. PSTA has been working hard since 2020 to reach applicants through social media, TV news, jobs fairs, and radio ads. And while those tactics have proven successful, we also wanted to show how fun this job can be! That's why we invited local reporters to our campus to learn and show others how easy and fun it can be to drive a bus! Thanks to coverage from six local media outlets, we hired nearly 40 new drivers! We're also proud of the fact that this very successful event cost us zero dollars to produce.