Transit Analyst

Love the bus? Stan the tram? Brain for trains? If you’re an ardent lover of public transit, and want to make it easier for millions of people to commute car-free? This might be the gig for you.

Transit data is the lifeblood of Transit: everything else depends on it. When our Data team does a good job, life is serene like a Tuscany sunset. Users just open the app, and everything miraculously works. Little do they know how many disparate datasets we have to wrangle… how many transit agency websites we have to monitor… how many sadistic bugs are out there waiting to pounce… how truly complex the “simplicity” of Transit’s app belies… how often disruptions, strikes, last-minute network changes, and other mystery forces join together to threaten our users’ with a missed bus or train.

But not on your watch

As our newest Transit Analyst, you’ll be as busy as a rush hour platform, digging up transit data across OpenStreetMap, Wikipedia, and the latest transit agency news. You’ll tinker with transit data, patching it up and improving it as needed, and help improve the automated tools that make those processes (and ergo, your work day) easier

Your unflappable resourcefulness and your passion for learning the quirks of different transit networks will keep us a step ahead of other apps. With your steadfast commitment to helping your fellow riders, you’ll fix gigabytes of datasets and anticipate forthcoming service changes — especially those that happen on weekends ( here’s looking at you, NYC).

If you’re cunning, curious, and excited to make public transit more reliable for millions of riders? Give us a holler

Responsibilities

1. Make sure the transit information displayed in the app represents the reality on the ground at any time: you’ll have to overcome geographical and linguistic barriers, taking into account the quirks of each network, and the limitations of different data specifications.
2. Use our in-house tools to maintain and update our current transit data feeds, and add new networks.
3. Communicate with transit agencies about any issues related to data: expired data, inconsistent formatting, requests for fixes, feedback from agencies on how we’re consuming data, quality assessments, etc.
4. Do your best to improve data issues in accordance with team priorities.
5. Suggest improvements to our existing data management tools — what processes can we automate? What can be done more efficiently? Where can we find better data?
6. Develop a deep understanding of public transit networks in cities around the world so we can better serve Transit’s riders. You will be expected to become familiar with different transit services, modes, rolling stocks, infrastructures, stations, etc. and differentiate between them.

If Jeopardy had a “transit in different cities” category you’d score full points: you’ve committed all the big (and even some of the small) transit authorities, agencies, modes, lines, and logos to heart.

Transit lingo doesn’t scare you: terminus, partial service, branch, headsign, dead mileage…. haven’t screamed yet? Keep reading

You’re extremely detail-oriented. Because our users depend on you Your attentiveness ensures Transit’s riders can relax, knowing they can always expect a reliable commuting experience.

Be curious, be nimble, think outside the boxcar. Every obstacle can be overcome or circumvented. Keep in mind, you’ll be handling data and documentation in languages may be unknown to you, often without any kind of FAQ. You’ve been warned…

Satisfactory written communication skills in English and French, so you can talk to all our partners about their data (4% of data sources in Quebec and 96% elsewhere).

Would be nice if

1. You live in Montreal and want to participate in office life.
2. Polyglot The more languages you can speak, write and understand, the better.
3. You studied urban planning or urban studies at university.
4. You have some experience in the transit industry.
5. You’re familiar with GTFS.
6. You’re comfortable in a Mac environment.

Don’t feel like all the requirements apply to you but you still think you’d be a great fit for Transit? Don’t hesitate to apply Please note that this is *not* a Data Science position. We're looking for someone who shares our palpable passion for public transit. All the data stuff, you can learn on the job

Compensation and benefits

$50,000 - $65,000 CAD per year, based on experience

- Stock options
- Comprehensive medical and dental coverage
- Four-day work week at full-time salary (yes, you read that right)
- Apple laptop and equipment
- $1,600 annual mobility allowance. STM? BIXI? Uber? E-bike? Scooter? Going car-free is free at Transit.
- A training and development budget
- Generous maternal/paternal/parental leave policy. Gotta fill out our tandem bicycles somehow
- Spend your days surrounded by first-rate teammates and the best view of Montreal and/or [insert exotic Zoom background]
- When you’re in the office: you’ll be in urbanist heaven, surrounded by Mile End’s urban gardens, bike paths, BIXI docks, bus stops, a metro station, and limitless restaurants… cafés… bars… concert halls… bagel boutiques…
- Communal lunch-and-learn with free food in the office each week.

Public transit is used by overwhelmingly more women and people of colour than other modes of transportation. We try to make sure the diversity of our users is reflected in the team that serves them. Because when we include people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, ages, and identities — we end up building a better app for everyone who uses Transit.

We encourage candidates of all ages, genders, origins and orientations to apply. If you’d like to specify which pronouns you use, feel free to include that in your application email.

And if your lived experience has given you a unique perspective on all things transportation, mobility, accessibility, urbanism? Let us know, and we’ll make sure your application gets the attention it merits.

When you apply, tell us about the most bizarre or quirky transit line you know, and why. It’ll be the perfect icebreaker for your interview.

PS. Tell us how you heard about the position Whispers, grapevines, middle-of-the-night Google searches? We’re dying to know…

PPS: Unfortunately, we don't accept in-person applications or singing telegrams. Make your application sing instead

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