SELECTING BUS DRIVERS - MULTIPLE PREDICTORS, MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES ONVALIDITY, AND MULTIPLE ESTIMATES OF UTILITY

For the past two decades, the transportation industry has operated in an environment of diminishing public funding, escalating costs, and de clining ridership, all of which contribute to shortfalls in available income for this vital public service. Improved selection techniques th at screen out undesirable drivers and select applicants with the poten tial for lower absenteeism rates and safer driving behaviors should re sult in more cost-effective operations. This study identified potentia l predictors and developed meaningful criterion measures to assess the validity of a variety of measures that might aid in the forecasting o f job performance for a sample of 864 bus operators representing 9 bus properties from across the United States and Canada. Job analysis inf ormation converged on a tripartite theory of performance that can be d escribed as requiring a bus operator to ''Be There,'' ''Be Safe,'' and ''Be Courteous.'' A predictor composite was created that successfully predicted supervisory ratings of performance as well as objective abs ence and accidents. Utility analyses indicated that the predictor comp osite could be employed to reduce the overall operating expenses of bu s transit agencies by over $500,000. The tremendous benefits that can be achieved through consortium-type arrangements that develop and util ize such selection systems was discussed.