In an effort to combat a driver shortage, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and Cuyahoga Community College are partnering to provide temporary Commercial Drivers’ License (CDL) training to RTA bus operator applicants.
The four-day, 40-hour training allows RTA candidates to be trained and tested in order to obtain their temporary or permanent CDL license prior to beginning RTA-specific operator training.
Much like transportation companies across the country, RTA has a shortage of drivers and is working to recruit and retain operators, said RTA CEO India Birdsong.
“We are not just trying to do it ourselves, we are actually reaching out and bringing people with us and making it more of a community priority,” she said.
The CDL program is meant to help clear a speedier path to employment for more drivers.
“To be able to create pipelines of individual, to create pathways for them to eventually move up the chain within RTA is significant,” said William Gary, executive vice president of Tri-C Workforce.
