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CATA Salutes the Trades

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Categories: Blog

Like most U.S. employers plagued by labor shortages, CATA has been rebuilding its workforce over the past 14 months. CATA bus operators represent 66 percent of the Authority’s employee base, making the recruitment and retention of new drivers – as well as mechanics and administrative personnel – paramount to the organizational strength, but also a challenge.

Looking beyond its standard recruiting practices, however, CATA recognized the opportunity to attract a new generation of employees, some of whom rely on its services for personal or family transportation.

“We cracked the code by taking an aggressive approach, offering unprecedented signing bonuses and newly committed resources,” said CATA Chief Executive Officer Bradley T. Funkhouser.

The result?

“We launched the “Look to the Road for Your Dream Career” campaign,” Funkhouser said. “It’s a timeless, turnkey and clever recruitment initiative that pulls out all the stops and actually brings applicants through our doors.”

One thousand nine hundred eighty-seven applicants, to be precise. Of those, 557 applied for an operator position.

Many applicants live in the Capital City region. They represent CATA’s widely diverse community of riders, and the potential to contribute to their community as a bus driver, mechanic or customer experience representative resonates with them.

Since the campaign’s spring 2021 launch, CATA has hosted five job fairs and onboarded no fewer than 170 candidates who have already begun their dream careers.

“We’re nowhere near ready to stop,” Marshea Brown, Director of Human Resources, added. “Recruiting continues in full swing. The Great Resignation isn’t going away anytime soon, and Baby Boomers are retiring in droves, so we are tirelessly keeping up the momentum. Our community will always need bus drivers because public transportation is an essential service for both those who don’t have other viable transportation options, as well as for those who are looking for affordable modes of transportation. CATA is proud to be the people’s public transportation service provider, bringing them one step closer to their dream careers and the best life they can live today.”

As news of CATA’s efforts to achieve regional mobility in the tri-county area takes flight, opportunities for a promising career in local public transportation is tangible.

“CATA remains committed to recruiting and retaining a robust workforce that keeps driving our communities forward, because that’s how we roll,” Brown said.

Looking for the career of your dreams? Apply today at www.cata.org/drive.

  • CATA is seeking bus operators and mechanics.
  • Competitive wages.
  • Excellent benefits packages.
  • $2,500 signing bonus for bus operators / $5,000 for mechanics.

Join CATA at their next Job Fair on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Frandor Shopping Center in the former Sears building (3131 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing).

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McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital Opening (Tips on How to Plan Your Trip With CATA)

Friday, March 4, 2022

Categories: Blog

It’s official, folks.

On Sunday, March 6, the new McLaren Greater Lansing hospital will open its doors for service. The 46,000-square-foot facility will host the health care services provided by the decommissioned Pennsylvania and Greenlawn hospitals.

Follow the steps below to access the hospital via CATA.

 

Plan your trip

Use the trip-planning tools available at cata.org plan your trip. Find out which routes will get you to McLaren and what time your bus will depart from your stop. To help you understand how to use our trip-planning tools, view our tutorial here.

You can also contact a Customer Experience Representative for trip-planning assistance.

Arrive early

Arrive at your bus stop at least 5 minutes before CATA’s scheduled departure – depending on the circumstances, you may even want to arrive 15 to 20 minutes earlier. Unforeseen circumstances, such as traffic congestion, accidents, weather and construction can cause unavoidable detours and delays.

 

Keep print schedules

Once you know the routes you need to get to your destination, keep a print schedule of each on hand. You never know when you might run into a dead zone and don’t have Internet access. If you have service but no Internet access on your phone, you can use our CATAnow texting service. Just text your bus stop number to 76123 and, after about a minute, you’ll receive the next real-time or scheduled departure time.

Transit app and live tracking

The Transit app is a handy mobile tool for checking departures, planning trips, and staying up to date on service changes or rider alerts. The app can also track your bus via GPS technology. Simply select your desired route and direction of travel, and you’ll see a live feed of your bus location.

 

If you have any questions about how to plan your trip or use our service, please feel free to contact us via our online feedback form, or by reaching out to a Customer Experience Representative. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates about CATA service changes, giveaways, Lansing events and more.

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Customer Service Appreciation [Meet the Team]

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Categories: Blog, Employees

Imagine for a moment you’re heading into work. You’re a CATA Customer Experience Representative and today you’ve got a shift at the downtown station. You walk through the atrium doors and make your way over to the booth and smile at the others already answering ringing phones – you know it’s going to be a busy day – but a good one. Lost and found, trip planning, bus tracking, Indian Trails, detours, departures and arrivals, paratransit, where to go, and what to do for anything and everything CATA – you know it all, even creating new stops. If there’s ever something you don’t know, there’s someone on your team who does that has your back. It’s a lot to handle, but you know you’ll get it done with a smile.

This is just a taste of everything that the customer experience department does for CATA. As the front line of contact for our riders, customer experience is in the know about almost everything to do with CATA and the City of Lansing in order to best assist you in getting where you need to go. This Customer Service Appreciation Week, we really want to highlight what the job means to our representatives who work so hard every day, 7 days a week.

What do you like most about your job?

We met with members of the CX (Customer Experience) team to ask them what they liked most about the work they do, hear what they have to say, and meet the team!

Brandon

 

 

 

"The best part is helping people navigate so they know they're going in the right direction, bridging the gap and building those hand-in-hand relationships."

 

 

 


Schuyler

 

 

 

"It feels good to help people out who are in need. Interacting with different people from all over and some of them you get to know on a different level."

 

 

 


RaSondra

 

 

 

"Working with my team is the most interesting because I get to work with not just my own department but others in CATA as well. I also like the stories that people tell me from day to day."

 

 

 


Samantha | Customer Experience Supervisor

 

 

 

"I'm in a unique position where I get to see immediate results for what our team does for the community. I see the understanding and relief as riders interact with our Customer Experience Representatives and I know that we are doing something right. I am so proud to be a part of this team."

 

 


 


Antwanette

 

 

 

"The customers are so funny, I love hearing their stories!"

 

 


 


Mysha

 

 

 

 

"I enjoy working with everyone on my team!"




 


Kayla

"I've always wanted to be a receptionist, so this is my first job that will help me in that direction. It's probably one of the first jobs where I actually like what I do. I like coming to work, and I like all of the people here."


Bri

 

 

 

"For me, it's connecting with the customers. A lot of the customers have disabilities, and I have a learning disability myself so I can relate to them. Here I can be there for our customers if they need to talk or need direction. It’s more than just a customer service job, it’s really about connecting with our customers."


 

 


Melissa

 

 

"My favorite part of the job is getting to help the public and make connections with people at a time when help is really needed. I enjoy talking with people and listening to their stories. I also work the Indian Trails at the Gateway and I get to speak with people from all types of backgrounds. It makes for some really interesting conversation. Because I work at the East Lansing Station I interact with MSU students and I get the chance to be of great help to some of the younger generation when they get lost around campus."


 

 


Andrea

 

 

 

"Lately, it's been helping the Lansing School District kids figure out which routes to take to school. I went to Everett, so I feel connected to them. I have a kid too, so I know how lost parents could feel if I were in that situation."

 

 

 


Margaret | Customer Experience Manager

 


"One of the things I like best about my job at CATA and in customer experience is our customers.  Each day provides us the opportunity to do something great, it can be as simple as replacing a lost pass, helping them plan their child’s trip to and from school or reuniting them with an item lost on the bus or as important as helping them with community resources.  We have customers that come to our information booths every day just to say hi to us and bring us treats, that’s how we know that what we do is important and impactful!"

 

 

 

 

All of our Customer Experience Representatives are responsible for a large variety of responsibilities which can be different depending on the location they're working at. Besides answering questions by phone or in person, all representatives manage the lost and found, learn and utilize numerous different programs for bus routes, bus tracking, customer feedback, pass sales, and more. Our representatives help more than just our customers. Within CATA they regularly communicate with almost every department to forward information that comes through the front desk. They play a part in many facets of day-to-day operation. So to our hard-working Customer Experience team, we want to once more graciously say thank you! You can learn even more about our Customer Experience team from last year's Customer Service Appreciation Week, so give it a read!

We'd love to hear your stories about any positive experiences you've had with our Customer Experience team on our customer feedback form.

 

 

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We want to hear from you! Share your story about a great ride, a driver that went above and beyond or how CATA helps you get around the community for a chance to be featured in a future blog post.

If you have a customer experience question or concern, please use our Contact Us form or call us directly at 517-394-1000.

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