WeGo ramps up hiring and training as Nashville looks to increase bus service

Now that Nashville voters have given the green-light to the transit referendum, the city will be increasing its bus service. That means running buses more often and for longer hours — and that means more drivers and mechanics.

It’s not a new need. WeGo, Nashville’s transit agency, has long struggled to recruit employees.

“We always need more mechanics and more operators,” says Eric Melcher, a WeGo spokesperson. “We’re never fully staffed. Never have been and probably never will be. But we know with the increase in service, it’s going to be absolutely critical that we have more mechanics and more operators.”

That’s where the agency’s training programs come into play.

While some of the mechanics on staff enter the job with prior experience, others have none at all. Instead, they undergo WeGo’s three-year paid training program.

It’s here that they learn to work in one of the agency’s two shops, doing things like inspecting brakes, rebuilding engines, or replacing batteries or electric motors. They also tend to smaller, daily repairs.

The program provides trainees with salary and benefits for the duration of the course.

The same goes for bus drivers. Their course is only 8 to 11 weeks, depending whether the applicant already has a commercial driver’s license.

Again, new hires are often trained from the ground up. That’s a draw for some — like Antoine, an operator-to-be, who said he had been wanting to obtain his commercial driver’s license.

“I knew that they assist you in getting it,” he says. “So when my last job got bought out by another company … I was like, ‘this is the time to do it.’ ”

He’s halfway through his course and will test for the license this week. Then, after another five weeks of training and mentoring, he’ll soon be one of WeGo’s newest bus drivers.