Bus operators make $50,000 - $65,000 a year.
All MTA employees have fully funded pensions and health care. This is a rarity in the USA.
> Bus operators make $50,000 - $65,000 a year.
So, doing the maths, that's about $85K NZ max -- not much to live on, in a city like New York.
Sure, lots of people make do on less.
They'd be renting, in a place like New York. Probably in a grotty neighborhood somewhere in New Jersey, in the outskirts if they have a Family to also support. Almost for sure would not be owning their homes, or even have that dream as a realistic prospect in their far distant future.
You couldn't pay me enough to trade places...