Drive for Metro: Doesn’t Require Driving to Metro

Bike racks at Metro base, photo by VeloBusDriver

Recently, a couple applicants for King County Metro driving positions who were turned down complained they were turned down for not owning cars.

I checked with Jeff Switzer, at King County Department of Transportation, who told me car ownership is not a requirement. However, you will need a plan for how to get to any of the seven bases around the county, for any shift at any time of day, dependably. Be prepared to explain your plan for "reliable transportation to work" during the inverview.

Former Metro driver David Lawson recounted his answer that got him hired:

I can't afford one reliable car, so I have two cheap cars. I take care of both. When one is in the shop, the other one is working.

If you show up to the interview in a Car2Go, be prepared to explain your credible Plan B for getting to work.

As Zach detailed, 20-30% of drivers at the Seattle bus bases don't alone drive to work.

Sadly, simply living near the bases won't work. You don't get a choice of base when hired. Eventually, you may be able to pick a shift for your preferred base, and at your preferred time of day, but that comes with seniority.

That said, now is one of the best times to become a Metro driver. With the severe driver shortage, drivers are on the waiting list to move to full-time shifts only 6 months as of late, if they have a good record, per Gutierrez. The job listing says under a year, but the shortage is apparently actually worse than that. Every Metro driver still starts on part-time, but the interminable multiple-year waits to get more hours are a thing of the past.