Dallas Area Rapid Transit is launching a new program that gives Dallas students hands-on bus maintenance experience and a chance at a good-paying job right after graduation.
DART’s High School Student Bus Maintenance Externship program focuses on valuable mechanic skills ranging from automotive basics to fixing buses with supervised hands-on training.
“Innovation must include the future," DART board chair Randall Bryant said during a press conference Tuesday, "and you cannot talk about the future without talking about our young people."
The program works in conjunction with Dallas Independent School District’s Career and Technical Education Program, where students learn the basics of automotive maintenance in the first two years.
“Years three and four is where they began to actually work on the busses,” Bryant told KERA.
Bryant said despite the recent challenges at DART over withdrawal elections and funding, delivering the program was one of his priorities when he became board chair last October.
As the transit industry nationwide faces a labor shortage, the program could be a vital career pipeline for bus maintenance technicians. Bryant said students could start in a $33-an-hour job immediately after graduation.
Oswaldo Alvarenga, DISD’s deputy chief of strategic initiatives, said having industry leaders at DART mentor students shows the investment that city leaders are making in the future workforce.
“They'll be working side-by-side with mechanics on heavy-duty diesel engines and active transit fleet, mastering the skills textbooks simply can't teach,” Alvarenga said. “We want every student to graduate with options, credentials and real-world experiences.”
Randy Reyna, a student at DISD's Robert & Charmaine Price Career Institute South, said he’s looking forward to learning new technical skills with his friends.
“Since we're working on busses... the brakes are different, right?" he said. "They use air brakes instead of regular brakes, so hopefully we get to learn more about that."
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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