Archives

  • www.xinsurance.com
Advertisement
The Newspaper for the Future of Miami
Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
Front Page » Government » English language barrier lowered to fill bus driver vacancies

English language barrier lowered to fill bus driver vacancies

Written by on April 12, 2022
  • www.miamitodayepaper.com
Advertisement
English language barrier lowered to fill bus driver vacancies

Amidst a countywide hunt for scarce bus drivers, Miami-Dade commissioners voted 7-4 to stop requiring private school bus, jitney, and Special Transportation Service (STS) drivers who aren’t proficient in English to take an oral test to prove they can communicate with emergency personnel in English.

Drivers can now take the test in Spanish or Creole, but still must demonstrate in a written test knowledge of Miami-Dade County, traffic regulations, defensive driving techniques and chauffeur responsibilities. The ordinance doesn’t apply to Uber, Lyft or taxis operating in the county.

“For-hire transportation providers have recently indicated that there is a shortage of professional drivers in the labor market,” Chief Operations Officer Jimmy Morales wrote in a memo. “Approval of this ordinance will increase the availability of licensed for-hire chauffeurs who are only proficient in Spanish or Haitian Creole.”

The proposal by Commissioners Jean Monestime and Rebeca Sosa met divided opinions among commissioners. For instance, Danielle Cohen Higgins said an ordinance approved by the commission last October required drivers to least be able to communicate emergency situations in English.

“As of October of 2021, we said you had to at least be able to communicate an emergency situation in English in order to get licensure in Miami-Dade County, which is also consistent with the federal guidelines,” Commissioner Cohen Higgins said.

“Our Miami-Dade County bus drivers outside of these chauffeur registrations are mandated to be able to speak English at the most basic proficiency, particularly for emergency situations and for the concern of safety, so here we are today repealing that ordinance, and it concerns me for obvious reasons as it pertains to safety.”

Commissioner Monestime argued that he and Ms. Sosa put together the proposal as the industry requested that the county give them an opportunity to hire more people due to a shortage of drivers. “We have people out there that can support this economy, that can support the industry, but that cannot currently pass that exam in English,” he said.

Miami Today reported last week that the Department of Transportation and Public Works had 123 vacant full-time bus operator positions, which is 7.6% of the department’s total workforce of full-time bus drivers.

Raul Gonzalez, special projects administrator 2 for the Department of Transportation, confirmed during the meeting that the failure rate on the oral test, first implemented in January, is at 44%. He said no incident has been reported about a driver not being able to communicate with 911.

Commissioner Joe A. Martinez agreed with Ms. Cohen-Higgins that drivers should have some oral English proficiency to communicate in emergencies. “Not every single fire rescue has a Spanish speaker on it; not every single police officer speaks Spanish or Creole,” he said.

He argued that the October ordinance was adopted for life-safety reasons, “and now it’s being changed to accommodate what may be a lack of drivers for STS and the jitneys,” he said before voting against the legislation.

The Department of Transportation is not the only county department in need of more drivers. Water & Sewer Director Roy Coley told Miami Today last week he had 300 job vacancies, including bus drivers, heavy equipment operators and even senior positions.

The private sector has been aggressively hiring drivers as well. Last week Walmart announced the starting salary range for new drivers will now be $95,000 to $110,000.

“I can tell you as the parent of adults with disabilities that use STS and as an advocate for adults that use STS they don’t have enough drivers,” said Commissioner Raquel Regalado.

“I insist that there is a need in this county, and if we don’t require things from others [Uber, Lyft and taxis] that are driving around this county, we are taking away from the seniors who need [drivers] the most, from [people with] special needs, people who needed the most, Commissioner Sosa said. “I hope that we can understand that they still take the written part and not the oral part.”

3 Responses to English language barrier lowered to fill bus driver vacancies

  1. Downtowner

    April 14, 2022 at 10:25 am

    If we’re going to relax English-language requirements, how about we also incentivize people to learn/improve their English? For example, we could offer to pay for classes at the local high school or at MDC. Really, I’d be concerned about drivers being unable to read traffic signs/notices.

  2. Sidney Simpson

    April 19, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    I am a retired transit employee and helped oversee compliance requirements for chauffeurs providing contract services. The commissioner that stated there have been no complaints regarding English profiency is incorrect. This ordince was enacted without real data from English speaking clients. The safety of english only (elderly/disabled)riders is being totally compromised.

  3. Joy Ayers

    April 19, 2022 at 6:35 pm

    Offer English classes, teach them English. You may give them the test in their native language, but as an Transit Instructor it is very hard to train people that does not understand policy and procedures that is facilitated in English. So they may pass the test, but training is done in English.

  • www.miamitodayepaper.com
Advertisement