In a significant development for public transportation in the San Diego area, the North County Transit District (NCTD) has officially brought nearly 450 bus operations employees under its direct management. This transition aligns with their broader commitment to service quality and employee culture. According to an announcement from NCTD, this move reunites all operations employees as part of NCTD for the first time in half a century.
Having these operations in-house is expected to bolster customer service and create a cohesive work culture, said NCTD Chief Operating Officer Lilia Montoya, “This transition allows us to deliver a more consistent, responsive, and customer-focused experience, while also creating a warm, welcoming environment for our team members". According to Montoya, directly hiring the previously contracted employees will align operations more closely with the organization’s values. All while creating a vested investment in the people responsible for powering their service and the communities relying on NCTD daily, as per the North County Transit District.
The NCTD, established in 1975, has grown from a small fleet with few fixed routes to an expansive service that oversees BREEZE fixed-route bus, FLEX deviated fixed-route, LIFT paratransit, and NCTD+ microtransit operations. As noted by NCTD, these services account for more than 60% of its total ridership and cover over 5 million miles annually in its 1,020-square-mile service area.
"Our BREEZE team, along with all of the amazing NCTD employees, have always been the very best of who we are, and we are excited to welcome them home," said NCTD Chief Executive Officer Shawn M. Donaghy, per NCTD. Including the BREEZE operations in the fold of NCTD's direct management, which includes COASTER and SPRINTER rail services, represents a full circle for the agency that had outsourced bus operations in 2010 to avoid service cuts and retain valued employees.
