What's your job about?
Transdev is a private public transport operator. I work in the Network planning team at Transdev NSW, a Transdev subsidiary in Sydney which operates buses. On a high level, the team is responsible for planning our services. This could involve designing new bus routes or planning roadwork diversions. The team is also a point of contact for government agencies for matters related to service planning.
Since joining the team a few months ago, I have been involved in several projects. A common theme in the work I have been doing to support my team is data analysis. Some examples of work I’ve done recently include automating a process of comparing data from different sources as well as creating an interactive data visualisation application to support decision making for a future project. I am also learning more about the scheduling process and am looking forward to being involved in more scheduling in the future.
What's your background?
I was born in Belgrade, Serbia and grew up in Newcastle, NSW. I spent a year as a high school exchange student in Japan before undertaking a mathematics degree at the University of Newcastle. After graduating, I worked as a publisher at an educational technology company. I then decided to return to university to earn an Honours degree. I came across the advertisement for my current position while I was looking for work after returning from a year abroad in Europe and applied right away. I have been in the graduate program for 4 months.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Absolutely! I think the qualities that have best served me in my current position are enthusiasm and willingness to learn new skills and new ways of thinking. Before starting at Transdev, I had no experience in the transportation industry and it hasn’t been an issue. My job would best suit someone who is interested in detail-oriented work and enjoys problem solving.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
Coming from a maths background, I’m always interested in tackling complex problems. I think it’s really exciting to be able to work on problems related to public transport in a city as big as Sydney. I have the opportunity to study the data and look for areas where improvements can be made.
What are the limitations of your job?
Since I’m still new to the position, it’s difficult for me to comment on what limitations I may encounter in the future. I would say that in general, planning bus services requires patience and attention to detail. A lot of different stakeholders can be affected by changes to our services and the network planning team does a lot of work to assess impacts and consult with relevant groups and agencies. If you are considering working in this type of position, it is good to be aware that we work towards long term goals and changes aren’t implemented overnight. This is the nature of the industry and is not necessarily a limitation.
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