rail technician

mechanic

data specialist

section manager

lead electrician

King County Metro Transit

I had a decent educational and work background that earned me a GS-7 pay grade with the Department of U.S. Treasury. I got offered from other companies that understood my resume and met their requirements. I chose to work with Metro Transit because it pays more than said rank. Also, I got to work outside and not confined to an office which I did not like.

I got my CDL drivers' license which cost $50K if pursued in a Driving School. I enjoyed the experience and appreciated the customers. I then get a chance to move to the Revenue Processing Center. The people I worked with were a variety of ideology, political leanings, color, culture, and sex. It was a fun group. 

I got to make use of my experience to recognize areas of improvement and make the necessary changes. We were given a choice of a good retirement package. When I was forced to leave because of health issues, I left with a good portfolio.

The policy of Metro Transit of not demanding fares encourages entitlement rights to the nonpaying sector. And these people are often very brazen in demanding a ticket. You would come occasionally across to some passengers who will tell you outright that they will not pay the fare and demand a transfer ticket. Sometimes get spat and cough on.

I worked with two managers in RPC during my time there. The first one understood the dynamics of group work and allow us to manage our own work. it produced a positive atmosphere, relationship, and productivity. The second one was so concerned about his image and took care of his own people and cut some of the incentives of the group. One of the minor reason I left. And I was not given a free lifetime bus pass

What is the best part of working at the company?
Good benefits (eventually) and good wages.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
As an operator, interactions with the public can be quite stressful. Not to mention dealing with traffic, construction, reroutes, etc. under the pressure of very short breaks (there is no defined "lunch" break).

Metro is extremely beaurocratic and employee satisfaction can often seem to be the least of their interests.

Depending on demand and turnover it can take a long time to get full time hours (it took me 3 years as a part time operator to get the opportunity for full time work/benefits).

Work assignments are based on seniority so expect to drive the nastiest routes and the least desirable shifts for quite a while (forget about weekends off for years).

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Supervisors and management can be very calloused toward operators. It often feels that you work for disapproving "leadership", and the public will ALWAYS get the benefit of the doubt when faced with the inevitable complaints.

Rules are very strict and inflexible... employees are treated simply as tools.

Management is super slow moving, and productive input from employees is NOT valued.

If shut up, stay in line, and don't criticize inefficiencies or injustices is your work style you'll fit in well.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Repetitive, stressful, thankless.

Driving a bus is fun, you're outside and get to be with the scenery.  Unfortunately upper management and local city/county leaders turn a blind eye to riders to smoke and are abusive to operators on the buses.  They talk all safety but don't act on it.  Upper Management rarely comes out to talk with operators, has their own self serving agenda and appears very out of touch with whats actually going on.  Promotions lean towards who you know, then Diversity, and if they are running out of options, they might promote the person who's actually qualified. Discrimination and favoritism is very prevalent here. The pay is decent, full time benefits are pretty good, no cost health insurance.  You will start out driving downtown routes either at night or split shifts during the day with weekdays off, but that will improve over time if you can work through "paying your dues" as every operator there has.  Once you pick up a few years of seniority you can start having some flexibility in your schedule.  I enjoyed the many different people you meet on the buses, most of them are actually pretty nice and appreciative, you get to work independently, theres rarely anyone breathing down your neck, just don't expect upper management to care about you in any way, they are too busy promoting their family members and close friends to care about you.  If you just want a good paying job, this will do, if you hope to move up, it can be difficult.

On a typical day I would safely transport commuting passengers between bus stops on an assigned route.
I learned that the three most important tasks I needed to consistently perform, in order, to keep my job were 
a) use the mirrors on the coach in accordance with establised procedures; 
b) obey a rule called " The two second rule "; 
c) conform to the procedures that were provided in an operations manual called 
" The Book ".
For some explained reason, management chose to terminate my employment at Metro for " Not being able to maintain a bus schedule ". ( I have an 804 FICO Score ).
I liked working with a diverse group of co-workers.
The hardest part of the job was my inability to have a perfect driving record. I wanted to be a member of the " million miler club "; a group of drivers who have driven a million miles without being involved in an accident.
The most enjoyable part of the job was able to take lots of paid time off.

I performed work in a normal day at king county Metro transit Internship, I had been serving lube systems for equipment of vehicles Inspecting equipment for damage components replacing failing components with new parts. Everyday I practice shop safety procedures and I was packing bearings w / grease, and working on the electrical traction motors on the buses; also I done adjustment of the shims, camber, and toe on buses. 
Management and the co-workers I worked along side with was excellent there, they all really made me feel right at home at Atlantic base.
The hardest part of the job was not ever having all the right tools or knowing offhand by just looking at something how it works or how to work on it!
My most enjoyable moment was really getting the feeling like," yeah, I can see myself doing this for a career(:

The work environment in the Metro capital delivery section can be described as toxic, characterized by a lack of supportive mentoring. An illustrative example of this toxicity is evident when employees seek training opportunities, such as project management classes, to enhance their skills and knowledge. Instead of receiving encouragement and support from supervisors, there is hesitation in approving such training requests. Moreover, upon reluctantly granting approval, the supervisors' dismissive comment of "praying for you to pass the test" reflects a lack of genuine mentorship and guidance. This absence of positive support and the presence of negative remarks contribute to a challenging and unproductive work atmosphere within the capital delivery section at Metro.


I've been a transit operator (bus driver) for King County Metro for 13 years now, and overall, I am satisfied with my job, and with management. There is virtually zero pressure to work fast, and working at a slow-paced is encouraged/enforced.

Dealing with the general public can be stressful, and assaults on transit operator are not uncommon, but 90% of assaults can be prevented with how you respond to people and incidents.

Having a government pension is definitely a plus, but with the cost of living rising rapidly, the COLA we obtained through our union negotiating with Metro seems inadequate. Compounding the COL issue, Metro finances are unstable due to the pandemic, and remote work for those who are able to do so, will likely reduce the number of employees in the future. Also, you may hear about transit operators that are making over $100,000 a year, but that is with vast amounts of overtime, and I have seen operator's mental and physical states deteriorate because of it.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Ability to get time off. Metro has a lot of flexibility in work schedules and taking time away from work.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Homelessness, drug addiction, apathy, indifference, aggressive drivers and lack of fare enforcement and lack of interest by Dow Constantine to remedy things.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Frustrating and depressing at times. As essential workers we were forced to work. Those working from home seemed to lack empathy for those working on the front lines. The best part, however, is the support from co-workers and the strong presence of our union.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Girding my loins and readying myself for each obstacle as they present themselves.

Pretty much the same as Tacoma Power except it was for a two-way radio system. This job was a continuation of the time that I spent at Atkinson Systems Technologies maintaining the same radio system that we upgraded Metro to. I was left alone to run the shop and only interfaced with management on a weekly basis other than the daily work reports I submitted via email. The most difficult part of the job was having all of the trouble tickets resolved prior to the buses making their morning runs because they could not use the bus until the radio was working. Metro was a very diverse team environment.

Being a transit operator is stressful, hard on your family life because you miss holidays for the first five years you’re there, It is a thankless task for the most part, both from the public, and from your Base Chief, who is usually a kick down, kiss up person. That’s how you get to be a Base Chief, that who the upper level management seems to want. The pay is good after you reach top scale.

The good part is that you have the opportunity to actually help people while providing a service.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Rail technician 2 salaries reported	$105,924 per year
Mechanic 1 salary reported	$47.14 per hour
Data specialist 3 salaries reported	$50.26 per hour
Section manager 2 salaries reported	$163,295 per year
Lead electrician 2 salaries reported	$68.98 per hour

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