Explore by Career/Transportation and Material Moving
Subway and Streetcar Operators
Operate subway or elevated suburban trains with no separate locomotive, or electric-powered streetcar, to transport passengers. May handle fares.
- Median pay
- $84,830
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +3.4%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Service Orientation
- Judgment and Decision Making
What they do
- Monitor lights indicating obstructions or other trains ahead and watch for car and truck traffic at crossings to stay alert to potential hazards.
- Operate controls to open and close transit vehicle doors.
- Drive and control rail-guided public transportation, such as subways, elevated trains, and electric-powered streetcars, trams, or trolleys, to transport passengers.
- Report delays, mechanical problems, and emergencies to supervisors or dispatchers, using radios.
- Regulate vehicle speed and the time spent at each stop to maintain schedules.
- Make announcements to passengers, such as notifications of upcoming stops or schedule delays.
- Direct emergency evacuation procedures.
- Complete reports, including shift summaries and incident or accident reports.
- Greet passengers, provide information, and answer questions concerning fares, schedules, transfers, and routings.
- Attend meetings on driver and passenger safety to learn ways in which job performance might be affected.
Majors that lead here
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Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.