C-TRAN is an agency that never sleeps. Even after the last buses come back to the yard at the end of service each night, the C-TRAN Maintenance facility is humming with activity. Our Maintenance department is a 24/7 operation, and the crew on the graveyard shift keeps the fleet ready to roll while the rest of us are sleeping.
The overall Maintenance schedule revolves around three shifts: day, swing and graveyard. For Mechanics, graveyard is actually the busiest shift, and for good reason—with buses in service nearly 21 hours per day, those overnight hours are the only time when the entire fleet is at the yard.
Besides mechanics, the graveyard crew includes fuelers, janitor/hostlers, two coach technicians, two transit vehicle electronics technicians, and one inventory technician. Their work involves scheduled preventative maintenance, fueling and cleaning buses to get them ready for roll-out the next day. Major or unexpected repairs also come up. Getting that work done overnight, every night, is a crucial part of ensuring C-TRAN operates smoothly from day to day.
C-TRAN Assistant Manager of Fleet Maintenance Glenn Hanning has spent most of his 22 years at C-TRAN on the swing shift. He’s spent time on the day shift and graveyard shift as well. Though Hanning considers himself a night owl, working graveyard still takes a toll at first.
“It’s hard on you,” Hanning says. “But once you get used to it, it’s good.”
The graveyard crew in Maintenance is more than a dozen people on most nights. Most start their workday between 8pm and 10pm, working until 6:30am the next morning. Of course, employees on graveyard have to sleep during the day. But they also may switch their sleep schedule during days off—for example, getting off work at 6:30am at the end of the work week, then staying up the rest of that day to spend time with family. It’s a physically demanding schedule that takes discipline to maintain.
“It’s the same amount of time off,” Hanning says, but when you’re adjusting your internal clock back and forth, “it doesn’t feel like it.”
There are some advantages to working the graveyard shift, Hanning says. There’s more flexibility during the day if you need it. Doctor appointments and errands are relatively easy to schedule around work.
Many of C-TRAN’s Operations staff also start their days in the wee hours of the morning, or stay late into the night. But only our Maintenance team has an all-night graveyard shift that makes C-TRAN a truly round-the-clock agency.
