Montgomery County provides fixed-route and on-demand transit service known as RideOn, and its workforce is facing three major changes at once: the implementation of a new Flash bus rapid transit (BRT) service, a substantial service expansion called RideOn Reimagined, and a transition to zero-emission buses. The County needed a clear picture of how these converging initiatives would affect staffing and training needs across RideOn, from operators and mechanics to planners and engineers, and secured a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Regional Infrastructure Accelerator (RIA) grant to fund the assessment.
Foursquare ITP and International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) conducted in-depth interviews and town-hall engagements at bus depots and mechanic shops to produce a state-of-the-practice report and staffing and training impact forecast, and developed a broader organizational assessment with recommendations to prepare RideOn for the changes ahead.
The project was the first effort to connect RideOn Reimagined, the zero-emission bus transition, and Flash BRT into a single workforce picture, giving the County the business intelligence it needs to adapt its operations.
Montgomery County will use the recommendations to guide hiring, training, and organizational changes as RideOn’s three initiatives move forward.
Solutions and Outcomes
- Conducted in-depth interviews across frontline, supervisory, and management roles.
- Forecasted staffing and training needs for frontline operations and maintenance roles.
- Assessed organizational readiness for BRT engineering project delivery.