Reskilling the Public Transit Workforce

As more public transit agencies convert their fleets to electric buses, retraining the workforce has become a significant issue. A panel of experts at the Reskilling Your Staff: Are You Ready for Tomorrow? session at APTA’s 2025 Mobility Conference offered insightful perspectives on how to tackle the issue.

Planning and research are essential, a process that can take anywhere from one month to six months according to Sandy Brennan, vice president and project manager, Foursquare Integrated Transportation Planning Inc. “So, you operate X number of revenue miles, you need X number of operators, you have X number of operators, you need X number of supervisors. So, you operate X number of revenue miles, you need this many mechanics and so on and so forth.”

Reskilling is not only for the mechanics who will work on the new fleets. Ryan Morrow, assistant vice president, zero-emission fleet support, WSP, says that bus drivers play a huge role as well and will need new training beyond driving new buses. They need to know “how weather can affect the bus, how driving behavior affects it. Operators should be aware of driving efficiency. They should be aware of what kilowatt hour per mile means.”

Olivia Jones, director of operations control center and training at host agency Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, says she wants all employees that are being retrained to be taken care of. “These vehicles are exciting to a driver and intimidating to technicians because everyone wants to drive the new bus, right?” That intimidation factor is real, and agencies must overcome the fears technicians face.

The panel emphasized the need for technicians that are being retrained for a new fleet to work alongside the original equipment manufacturer workers that cover the warranty period, and also potentially sending them to the factories where they are made to learn about the vehicles while being assembled.

Overall, employees might start out being intimidated by the new technology, but with the right training, and the right equipment, retraining them to deal with a new fleet can be highly successful because employees want to know that employers are invested in them. You never will regret investing in your workers, the panelists agreed.

Adelee Le Grand, COO, Vectour Group, moderated the session.

View more images from the Mobility Conference here.