Rider's Almanac Blog

On the Clock/Off the Clock: Billy Le

How did you come to work at Metro Transit and what do you do?

After earning a degree in civil engineering, I entered the job market during the Great Recession. I found myself working as a dispatcher and trainer for the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District (DID) and as a part-time weekend bus operator for Metro Transit. As a lifelong transit rider, I always felt like transit was calling me. I even took a course on transit planning.

After five years as a full-time bus operator, I became a schedule technician. Schedule technicians take data about trips and organizes them into blocks that become new schedules. As a former operator, I understand some of the frustrations they can have. As a schedule technician, I try to make good schedules for the routes I work on. Specifically, I help schedule work out of Ruter Garage.

Where are you from originally? Tell us a little bit about your background.

I live in the city where I grew up in riding transit: Richfield. My wife doesn't drive, so we made sure to buy a house near transit offerings like the 5, 18, and the 515. As a kid in Richfield, my mom didn't drive either, so I would take the bus everywhere around the city. My routes were the 4, 6, and the old 15. I continued my bus riding throughout college until I got behind the wheel myself. I enjoyed my part-time weekend work, and even more so my full-time extra board work, which puts you on-call for open work on any routeon any route and makes every day different.

What is your favorite part about working for Metro Transit?

My co-workers and managers. Whether it's in a garage or in the office, there's always someone there who can help answer any question. I'm new to the scheduling team, but there's people with decades of experience who are more than happy to help whenever I have a problem. And, the little kid in me that loved to ride the bus is still grinning that I found a job in transit.

What are your favorite activities when you're not working or "Off the Clock"?

My childhood hobby, Legos, has become an adult obsession. When I got this new position, I treated myself to a new Lego set to help decorate my new office. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so most of my collection are Star Wars ships. A Y-Wing now sits proudly in my office next to a Tie Interceptor. It took a while to complete this 2,000-piece set, but believe it or not, I've done more, like a Star Destroyer, which has tens of thousands of pieces for a four-foot long piece.