The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) says it’s the first agency in the country to purchase the MB-2000, a new version of a simulator in which bus drivers can maneuver through various pitfalls and risks of the open road without ever leaving the building.
Santa Clara VTA says this simulated bus apparatus can replicate anything and everything a driver might encounter in the real world.
The $460,000 federal grant-funded, high-tech training aid will not only enhance the experience of new bus operators but will help retrain the veterans as well. The grant was awarded through the VTA/ Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Joint Workforce Investment program with Mission College.
While not a new concept, drivers are strapped into this state-of-the-art tool and experience the most life-like illusion there is of navigating a bus through virtual streets and obstacles, says the agency. The simulator can be programmed for different weather conditions, road surfaces, low-hanging underpasses, pedestrians, cyclists, etc., everything that an operator might encounter in the course of their job.
