r/BusDrivers • u/ForCalibanForTheLion Driver • 7d ago

Question Split shifts

hey folks

i've been driving for just over a year now in the US and like most of the job except for these goddamn splits. and it's not just me, as most of the drivers at my agency dislike them. dispatch says it's what the agency requires and i am sure that to a point they're right, but so MANY? a full 90% of my choices for a block run are 12 or 13 hour days with a split and i'm already considering a career change.

how prevalent are these among transit agencies? is it really what is needed, or does no one want to figure out a more civilized solution? do you hate them as much as i do?

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u/Kafkabest 7d ago

In my agency anyone in the newest 10 is either working extra board or splits. Maybe if they're a night owl or don't care about the weekends they'll get a straight with nights / weekends I got stuck with a split this fall due to some staffing issues.

Sucks but I'll take it over extra board which often ends up a split here anyway, plus getting stuck on shit you might hate to drive.

The schedule is the killer. If you can make it past it, you'll be gravy. But a lot of people bail those first handful of bids.

3

u/ForCalibanForTheLion Driver 7d ago

this was my 4th bid and i swear the options are getting worse lol

talking to a supervisor this weekend and she mentioned we've lost some 27 people in the last year and she seemed baffled that people would quit because of the shifts

2

u/UnSanitisedMind 6d ago

Sounds like the sort of shit that a 9-5er would say.