LTD recognizes eight bus operators who completed training

Lane Transit District (LTD) celebrated its most recent graduating class of eight bus operators for completing their bus operator training and education Dec. 29, 2023, and officially joing the LTD team.

“We welcome the new class of operators,” said Jameson T. Auten, LTD CEO. “Our operators are the lifeblood of LTD, our eyes and ears out on the road and in our communities. This class joins the rich legacy of a team dedicated to connecting our community.”

The district’s new graduates will join LTD’s roster of 165 bus operators who travel 30 neighborhood (fixed) routes and two EmX routes seven days per week that span the district’s nearly 500 square miles. LTD bus operators pick up and deliver passengers from 1,300 active bus stops. including nine neighborhood stations, 60 EmX platforms, 200 neighborhood bus shelters and two primary hub stations. Annually, they drive the district’s 30 electric, 59 hybrid and 28 renewable diesel fuel buses.

LTD’s bus operator training program is nine weeks. The curriculum is taught in the classroom and behind the wheel to teach candidates about customer service, laws governing bus operations, LTD operations and how to operate the district’s 40- and 60-foot fixed-route buses, as well as its EmX buses that serve the bus rapid transit routes.

“You are a professional. No different from a doctor, teacher or a firefighter,” said LTD Training Supervisor Darryl Whitaker. “We have an outstanding group of instructors and it helps a lot when we also have great students to teach. This has been a really easy class.”

The next class of operators begins on Jan. 22, 2024.