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77
Approximately six staff hours are spent, in addition to the ing. Of the trainees, 111 (56%) successfully completing the
operator trainee wages, during this supervisor release testing. training and were hired as vehicle operators.
Operator trainees are paid their regular wages during train- The calculated attrition rate for this operation is hence
ing. Approximately 120 hours are spent in training. With 57% (111 new operators divided by 196 total operators).
approximately 12 trainees per year, the total trainee wage cost
is $20,750.
Recruitment and Advertising
The primary instructor is also the primary staff member
who updates and adds to the training manual, as well as spends MV's recruitment and advertising activities in Denver
time thinking of ways to tweak the style or set-up of the train- include placing "operators wanted" ads in local newspapers,
ing. The instructor discusses any changes with the GM, but the putting "operators wanted" stickers on each revenue vehi-
GM reported not spending any regular amount of time on cle in the fleet, and giving $250 referral bonuses to staff who
training curriculum. bring MV applicants who are eventually hired. The monthly
STS does not purchase books or other course materials. cost of advertising in newspapers is approximately $322 per
The primary instructor does use videos and other materials month and $3,864 per year. The vehicle stickers each cost
to support the primary training documents. Often, the $7.50. Putting a sticker on each of the vehicles thus cost
instructor exchanges training materials with instructors in $1,178. Given that these stickers need to be periodically
other municipalities, but it is a free exchange of materials. replaced because of wear and tear, they were treated as an
Total training costs for instruction and trainee wages are annual cost, assuming that all stickers need to be replaced
$30,990 annually. With an average of 12 trainees per year, the one per year. And, in the past year, 8 referral bonuses were
average cost per trainee for STS is $2,582.50. awarded totaling $2,000 for the year. The total recruiting
cost thus adds up to $7,042. The cost per applicant recruited
works out to $4.71. The recruitment cost per operator hired
Total Costs is $64.
Charlotte's STS spent a total of $41,137 on operator appli-
cant interviews, screening, and training, with three quarters Applicant Interviews
of this total spent on training ($30,990). With an average of
12 graduates hired from this process, this total figure equates Both of MV's senior managers review applications and
to $3,428 per graduate hired. interview applicants who "make the cut." MV estimates that an
average of 4 hours per week (208 hours per year) were spent
reviewing the 1,496 applications and that an average of 6 hours
MV Transportation, Denver, CO per week (312 hours per year) were spent interviewing the 308
Introduction applicants. At a wage rate of $31.25, this equates to an annual
cost of $16,250. The cost per applicant interviewed works out
MV Transportation is the largest contractor in Denver to $53. The interviewing cost per operator hired is $147.
RTD's ADA paratransit system, called Access-a-Ride. MV
operates 157 revenue vehicles with 196 full- and part-time
Applicant Screening
vehicle operators.
Operators receive a $9.00 per hour training wage, $11.00 to Following the interviews, 84 applicants were dropped from
start, and a 2% increase every 6 months. Fringe benefits include the process, leaving 224 applicants for whom screening is
1 week of paid vacation to start, individual health care cover- conducted. Screening consists of accessing DMV and crimi-
age ($28.50 contribution every 2 weeks), individual and spouse nal background checks and drug testing the applicants. The
coverage ($341 contribution every 2 weeks), and family health DMV checks cost $2.20 each. The criminal background
care coverage ($603.50 contribution every two weeks). Opera- checks cost $60 each. The drug testing costs $25.00 each. Col-
tors also are eligible for a performance bonus of $150 every two lectively, these expenses total $87.20 per applicant, which
months if they are free of preventable accidents, preventable when multiplied by 224 applicants yields an annual total
passenger injuries, and have a perfect attendance record. direct cost of $19,533. Staff labor to process the checks and
During this past year, MV attracted 1,496 operator applica- drug test results averaged about 1.5 hours per applicant, and
tions as a result of its recruitment efforts. Of these, 308 (21%) hence 336 hours for the year. At a wage rate of $15.00 per
were interviewed. As a result of the interviews, the applicant hour, staff labor involved in the screening process totals
pool was narrowed down to 224 applicants. DMV checks, $5,040 for the year. Together, the labor and direct costs total
criminal background checks, and drug testing of these 224 $24,573. The cost per applicant screened works out to $110.
applicants resulted in 197 applicants being selected for train- The screening cost per operator hired is $222.
