Become a Muni Operator

Muni Operators Benefits
Application Window
Sign Up for Job Alerts
Requirements
Important Information About Licensing
Frequently Asked Questions

Jump-start your career in transportation -- become a Muni Operator. Whether you're driving Muni's fleet of buses, trains, historic streetcars or world-famous cable cars, as a Muni Operator you're playing an important role in San Francisco. Interested in a job with excellent benefits, great compensation and a sense of civic pride? 

Muni Operators Benefits:

• 9 Weeks of Paid Operator Training
• Great Salary, Health Insurance, Retirement, Educational Benefits
• Opportunities to Grow a Career
• Pride in Serving the Public

Application Window for 9163 Transit Operator

• Please refer to the full job announcement to learn more about this position and its requirements.
  
  • Notable updates to the minimum qualifications (effective August 2022):
    
    • Applicants may have no more than one (1) moving violation between the 12-month time frame indicated on the job announcement
    • Applicants may have no more than three (3) moving violations between the 36-month time frame indicated on the job announcement
    • Applicants may not have had their driving privilege suspended, revoked, or placed on probation more than once for a cause involving the unsafe operation of a motor vehicle.
      • Note - Convictions for leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury or death, reckless driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs within the three-year period will result in an automatic disqualification.
• Make sure to complete and submit your application by the deadline posted on the job announcement.
• All correspondence will be made via email.
  • The Examinations Team will send a supplemental questionnaire for all applicants to complete once the announcement closes. Be sure to complete the questionnaire by the indicated deadline.
    • The supplemental questionnaire will include information about CityDrive, a free program that assists candidates through the process of obtaining a medical certificate and/or a commercial learner’s permit. 
      • Although only a basic non-commercial license is needed to apply, you must obtain a Commercial Learner's Permit with passenger and airbrakes endorsements to move forward in the pre-employment process.
    • Examination rankings are based off the final score of your supplemental questionnaire responses. Your ranking does not change for the duration of your eligible list.
• The Transit Operator Hiring Team (Employee Services) will provide additional information via email regarding the pre-employment process after your eligible list is adopted.
   

Sept/Oct 2024 (T00117) Applicants

• A document drop-off event was held on Thursday August 28, 2025, for candidates ranked 1-15 only.
  • All other candidates on the list will be reached out to when we are closer to considering your rank for hiring.
• Please keep on the lookout, however, for an email from our hiring team so that you may be considered when we are ready to hire from this list.  The email would come from 9163HiringEvent@sfmta.com.
  
  • While you wait, if you do not already have a Commercial Learner's Permit or Commercial Driver's License with passenger endorsement and no air-brake restrictions, it is advantageous for you to start the process of obtaining this.
  • See our section below on licensing requirements for more information on a free program to get you started on this.
• This list is projected to expire on May 6, 2026

April 2024 (T00110) Applicants

• If you applied to T00110 and were provided a rank on the eligible list, please provide additional documents that have been requested to DriveMuni@sfmta.com. 
• If you are unsure of what documents are needed, inquire by including your full name and which list you were on. 
• This list is projected to expire on December 23, 2025.

Sign Up for Job Alerts

Interested in the next posting or future postings?  

• Option One:
  • You can go to the Create a Job Alert page in our new applicant tracking system.
    • You’ll be prompted to complete a simple form for each job alert you’d like to receive. You can enter the keyword of "9163" to ensure you sign up for Transit Operator notifications.  This is the job number used on job postings for this position.
      • Note that only one keyword / job code can be entered in this field. You must complete an additional form for each additional keyword for which you’d like to receive an alert.
      • If you wish to sign up for more jobs, you can submit multiple forms.  Enter a keyword such as "cleaner", "engineer" or "manager" or if you’d like to receive an alert for a specific job code, you may enter the job code number in the “Keyword” field.
      • These job alerts will be sent to you until you cancel them.
    • Check your email immediately after subscribing.  You will need to confirm that you requested for the subscription.
• Option Two:
  • Click the "Sign up for updates" link near the top of this page.
  • You can sign up for email or text alerts using this option.

Requirements

Qualities We're Looking For in a Muni Operator:

• 21 and over
• High School Graduate or GED-holder
• One (1) year of public contact or customer service experience
• Minimum of a non-commercial (CA Class C equivalent) license active for a continuous period of three years*
• Good Driving Record*
• No convictions within the past seven (7) years of any offense related to the use, sale, possession, or transportation of narcotics, habit forming drugs, or dangerous drugs
• No convictions of any sex offense as defined in Section 44010 of the Education Code
• Ability to Obtain School Pupil Activity Bus (SPAB) Certificate* 

*See the full requirements on the announcement when posted.

Important Information about Licensing

• In order to qualify to participate in the exam process, one needs to only possess the minimum qualifications that will be posted on the exam announcement.  At this stage, the licensure requirement is only a non-commercial (CA Class C equivalent) license and the individual must have been a licensed driver for at least three (3) continuous years.
  • Individuals will also need to obtain or possess a valid one (1) to two (2) year DOT Medical Examiner’s Certificate (MEC). It is recommended that you renew your medical certificate if it expires within the next six (6) months.
  • In order to be hired, an individual will need a commercial learner’s permit or commercial driver's license with both passenger and airbrake endorsements.

More detailed information about the learner's permit is available by reviewing the Become a Muni Operator: Driver’s Record and Commercial Learner's Permit Guide.

• If you do not have such a learner’s permit at this time, not a problem at all.  The SFMTA and Office of Economic and Workforce Development have collaborated to offer a free program, CityDrive, to assist candidates through the process of obtaining a medical certificate and/or a commercial learner’s permit. 
• CityDrive is a free, accelerated program that trains individuals for the Class B permit test, the permit/license required to become a 9163 Transit Operator. Candidates are highly encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

More information about this free training program is available on the CityDrive Training Program site.

• For those who have a commercial learner’s permit already or a commercial license:
  
  • Make sure you have passenger and airbrake endorsements.  If you do not, you will need to obtain this before you can start in one of our classes.
  • Make sure your DOT medical is up to date.  If it will expire within the next few months we highly recommend you take steps to renew the medical.  The training requires a full-time commitment of 9 weeks and does not have flexibility for missed days.  Therefore, having your medical renewed ensures you don’t have to get pushed back a class due to your medical being scheduled to expire mid-way through the class.

The Hiring Process Includes:

• Civil Service Examination
• Fingerprint and Background Check
• Medical Exam to obtain a medical certificate
• Drug Screening
• Submit DMV Proof of Clean Driving Record
• Submit Commercial Learner's Permit or Commercial License with passenger and airbrake endorsement
• Complete a 9-week full-time training
• Pass a driving test to officially become an Operator!

Frequently Asked Questions

You can also go to the City's Job FAQ page which provides answers to many frequently asked questions on topics such as:

• Eligibility
• Veteran's Preference
• Disabled / Special Needs
• Drug Tests
• Conviction History
• and more...