ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque’s streets will start seeing more buses after ABQ Ride’s newest improvement to its hiring process. It’s been an effort years in the making and it’s another step closer to the city’s transit system returning to full operation, the service said.
A honking of a horn is the sound trainees will make after completing four maneuvers required to earn their Commercial Driver’s License or “CDL.” A certification that used to be done by a third party, but has now been moved in-house at ABQ Ride.
“We’re just trying to build up our driver force and mechanic force and able to get more routes out there to be able to serve the public,” said Mark Warren, training specialist at ABQ Ride.
In partnership with the MVD, the first-of-its-kind testing kicked off earlier this month and already has trainees stepping into their new roles. “Well one of the great things about having our own in-house CDL exams is that we remove the financial barriers that a driver might have,” said Meghan Plunkett, training specialist at ABQ Ride.
Before the change, drivers would have to pay $200 out of pocket each time they took the test. Now, it will be of no charge to trainees.
Also, giving scheduling control to ABQ Ride speeds up the process of getting on the road by roughly a month.
“When they told me that, I literally jumped in the air, I’m not even kidding. Because I know what it is to pay for those things,” said Andre Edwards, a current ABQ Ride trainee.
With ABQ Ride’s new incentives, there will be more drivers behind the wheel and it’s a step towards their goal of working at full capacity.
“Right now, we’re at two-thirds of full service and we want to bring that back to full service and we will do that the moment we have the proper staffing,” said Madeline Skrak, public information officer for ABQ Ride.
The pandemic tanked ridership and caused a staffing shortage. But now, ABQ Ride said their numbers are up, including retention. It’s been a 15-year vision for ABQ Ride.
“I’m glad to be part of the community here and I hope you accept me as one of your own. I’ll see you around,” said Edwards.
The transit department is looking to hire more than 150 people, mostly drivers and mechanics. If you’re interested, click here to join their team.
