OC Transpo launching recruitment roadshow to help hire over 500 new employees

An OC Transpo bus turns onto Elgin St. from Wellington St. in downtown Ottawa, Ont. in this undated photo. (Photo by Shubham Sharan on Unsplash)

OC Transpo is taking its recruitment campaign to busy transit stations this month, as Ottawa's transit service looks to hire more than 500 new bus drivers, special constables, licensed mechanics and other staff members this year.

"To help spread the word and encourage more people to apply, our recruitment team will be hosting the first-ever Transit Job Fair and Roadshow later this month," OC Transpo general manager Renee Amilcar says.

The Transit Job Roadshow will stop at the Blair, Hurdman, Billings Bridge, Tunney's Pasture and Baseline stations May 24 to 26. OC Transpo will hold a career fair at Greenboro Station on May 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"At the roadshow, the recruitment team will have a booth at various stations and times, and will share information with transit customers and job seekers about current job openings at OC Transpo," Amilcar said, adding staff will be on hand to answer questions and explain, "Why they love working at OC Transpo."

OC Transpo has cited staffing shortages as one of the reasons for bus trip cancellations since last summer. Data presented to the Transit Commission on Thursday showed 40 per cent of the bus trip cancellations in March were due to "not enough operators."

The Transit Service plans to hire 360 new bus operators this year, along with hiring dozens of new customer service representatives, special constables, licensed mechanics and other positions.

According to the OC Transpo website, applicants for a bus operator need a G class driver's licence, five years of driving experience and three years of customer service.

A new class of OC Transpo operators will graduate on Monday, and will begin serving routes in the days ahead.

Amilcar admits OC Transpo has an "ambitious recruitment" goal for this year, but believes staff have put together a "strong" recruitment campaign to attract new employees to the transit service.

Councillors will be asked to help promote the OC Transpo Transit Job Roadshow on social media.