Metro is looking for more than just a few good men and women. The agency says it has 214 openings for bus drivers, train operators and station managers. “The number is higher than we would like it to be,” said Metro spokesman Reggie Woodruff.

Earlier this fall, Metro acknowledged it had a bus driver shortage, which the human resources chief called a “huge problem” stemming from a six-month hiring freeze. Typically, Metro loses about 10 bus operators per month, Woodruff said, through retirements or firings such as a bus driver who crashed into another bus in September, injuring 27 passengers. The freeze created a backlog as drivers left and their positions stayed unfilled.