Looking for a Miami job that pays more than $50,000 a year? What to know, how to apply

Howard Cohen
·4 min read
1

Want to drive a bus? And make more than $50,000 a year?

Miami-Dade County Transit is looking for workers.

County officials have put a pitch on Facebook posts, touting the open bus operators positions as well as its new Better Bus plan that will temporarily lift fares for Miami-Dade Transit buses and Metrorail. Department managers didn’t say how many drivers they are looking for.

Here’s what to know:

How to get hired as a Miami-Dade bus driver

▪ Fill out an application. Applications are being accepted through Dec. 25 on miamidade.gov/jobs — search for the open “bus operator” position to apply.

▪ Get screened. If your application meets the qualifications, the department’s human resources team will contact you to discuss the next steps.

Requirements: Some minimum requirements have to be met to become a bus operator for Miami-Dade’s transportation department:

▪ High school diploma or GED is required.

▪ Proof of having passed general knowledge for a class “B” vehicle with air brakes and passenger endorsement testing of the Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). All such documents need to be current and valid.

▪ Must be able to work weekends, holidays, and various shifts and locations as assigned.

Pre-employment steps: If you meet the above requirements you may be able to move on to the pre-employment steps that require a background check and written exam and also a pre-employment physical exam.

Testing date: Read the Metrobus Operator Handout for details on the recruitment testing date of Jan. 8, 2024. From that online platform you’ll learn what the training will be like, where you will test — at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Miami Airport & Convention Center, 711 NW 72nd Ave, near Miami.

Prep: The online Metrobus Operator Handout booklet has sample questions and more details. Computers are available at all Miami-Dade public libraries if you lack access at home.

What is the deadline to apply?

Date range: Recruitment began Oct. 9 and applications are being accepted through Monday, Dec. 25.

What does the job pay?

Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works is hiring bus operators through Dec. 25, 2023.
Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works is hiring bus operators through Dec. 25, 2023.

Hourly: Bus operator trainees will earn $16.43 hourly. After applicants successfully complete the training program, the salary bumps to $17.31 per hour to start. Built-in overtime and an additional 1.5% allowance are added to the base pay, and there’s an option of earning double-time for working on county-observed holidays.

Bonus: A sign-on bonus of $5,000 is paid after acceptance, enrollment, and completion of the transportation department’s Bus Operator Training Program and six months of successful performance as a bus operator. The remaining $2,500 is paid after 18-months of successful job performance.

Average: Miami-Dade Transit says the annual salary of a bus driver is more than $53,000 annually.

When do you get on the road?

Training: New bus operator hires will participate in a nine-week training program before getting on the road with passengers in 2024.

Free fare on bus and Metrorail

Savings: As part of its new Better Bus Network plan, the county is suspending fares — meaning free bus rides in Miami-Dade — for both bus service and the Metrorail system starting Nov. 13 through Dec. 31, 2023. Fares for both are usually $2.25 per trip.

Still free: Metromover, the driverless people mover that loops around downtown Miami and extends to the Brickell and Omni stations, is always free.

READ MORE: Riding the bus will soon be free in Miami-Dade County. What to know about the changes

Route plan: The temporary free services coincide with the county’s new redesigned route plan that consolidates low-ridership routes while increasing the number of buses serving high-ridership routes, according to the Department of Transportation and Public Works. The redesign means many changes, including new route names, fewer neighborhood stops and the cancellation of some routes.

Reaction: The plan has angered some in the community, according to comments on the department’s Facebook post. “You guys did NOT listen to any of our requests! Why is the 22 route being cut off at 119 st? That route is essential for those who use it to get to and back from Golden Glades and North Miami! Do NOT make that change. Miami-Dade College already has the 19 which can connect riders to the 22. This was obviously a change made by non-riders,” Keon Grayson wrote on the Facebook thread.

Better Bus sessions

Information: Miami-Dade Transportation posted on Facebook that it will host a series of free public lectures to answer questions from the community and explain the new Better Bus plan and how that affects routes.

Time, date, location: Sessions will be held 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the following locations:

▪ Miami Dade College Homestead Campus, Oct. 30.

▪ Little Haiti Cultural Center, Nov. 2

▪ Westchester Cultural Arts Center, Nov. 6

▪ North Dade Regional Library, Nov. 9

READ MORE: Can Miami-Dade County finally streamline its public bus service, reduce waiting time?

A map of Miami-Dade with the new “Better. Bus” plan routes.
A map of Miami-Dade with the new “Better. Bus” plan routes.