Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

New North County transportation situation

Bus drivers look forward to management change and...raises?

North County Transit District was privatized in 2010 to no great result.
North County Transit District was privatized in 2010 to no great result.

The North County Transit District has announced a new firm, MV Transportation, will operate and maintain its regular bus routes, paratransit, and special transportation services. The contract includes the hiring, training, and employment of bus drivers.

This may come as good news to many North County bus riders and the 300 drivers for the district’s Breeze, Lift, and Flex buses, who’ve become weary of the current operational firm, First Transit. It was in 2010 that the transit district first privatized its buses and drivers by awarding an operational contract to First Transit.

Following the privatization, bus riders and drivers claimed new hires would not be trained properly, fares would go up, and the for-profit company would lower drivers’ wages.

Sponsored
Sponsored

While fares remained fairly constant and First Transit hired most of the former district drivers, they have been criticized for major incidents relating to safety, training, and hiring policies.

In 2013, on Camp Pendleton, three cyclists were hit; one died because the bus driver reportedly got too close to the cyclists and didn’t slow down when passing. In 2010, a Route 309 bus driver was arrested for DUI at the corner of El Camino Real and Encinitas Boulevard.

In April of last year, the threat of a bus-drivers' strike against First Transit’s wage proposal left a bad taste in the mouths of some local officials who oversee the district. (Each city served by the transportation district has one councilperson representative on its board.)

Some riders felt the wage dispute should have been handled privately between First Transit and the bus drivers rather than instilling worry among riders over the thought of losing their bus service.

On February 3, a day after the new contract announcement, a driver at the Encinitas bus-transfer station said he was confident all the current First Transit drivers would be rehired by the new firm and all seniority would stay in place.

“Rumor is that we’re supposed to make more money,” said the driver. “Of course, that’s just a rumor.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City late to extricate foxtails from Fiesta Island

Noxious seeds found in chest walls and hearts, and even the brain cavity of dead dogs
Next Article

City late to extricate foxtails from Fiesta Island

Noxious seeds found in chest walls and hearts, and even the brain cavity of dead dogs
North County Transit District was privatized in 2010 to no great result.
North County Transit District was privatized in 2010 to no great result.

The North County Transit District has announced a new firm, MV Transportation, will operate and maintain its regular bus routes, paratransit, and special transportation services. The contract includes the hiring, training, and employment of bus drivers.

This may come as good news to many North County bus riders and the 300 drivers for the district’s Breeze, Lift, and Flex buses, who’ve become weary of the current operational firm, First Transit. It was in 2010 that the transit district first privatized its buses and drivers by awarding an operational contract to First Transit.

Following the privatization, bus riders and drivers claimed new hires would not be trained properly, fares would go up, and the for-profit company would lower drivers’ wages.

Sponsored
Sponsored

While fares remained fairly constant and First Transit hired most of the former district drivers, they have been criticized for major incidents relating to safety, training, and hiring policies.

In 2013, on Camp Pendleton, three cyclists were hit; one died because the bus driver reportedly got too close to the cyclists and didn’t slow down when passing. In 2010, a Route 309 bus driver was arrested for DUI at the corner of El Camino Real and Encinitas Boulevard.

In April of last year, the threat of a bus-drivers' strike against First Transit’s wage proposal left a bad taste in the mouths of some local officials who oversee the district. (Each city served by the transportation district has one councilperson representative on its board.)

Some riders felt the wage dispute should have been handled privately between First Transit and the bus drivers rather than instilling worry among riders over the thought of losing their bus service.

On February 3, a day after the new contract announcement, a driver at the Encinitas bus-transfer station said he was confident all the current First Transit drivers would be rehired by the new firm and all seniority would stay in place.

“Rumor is that we’re supposed to make more money,” said the driver. “Of course, that’s just a rumor.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bluefin still Missing In Action – Grunion for Bait during Observation Only? - Yellowtail Limits a Short Drive South

Santee Lakes Catfish Opener features Tagged Fish for Prizes
Next Article

San Diego police buy acoustic weapons but don't use them

1930s car showroom on Kettner – not a place for homeless
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.