Hello

Since Switzerland has joined the schengen, are there still checks being done on people travelling from GE to Ferney-Voltaire /vice versa by bus or car? If so, we are required to carry our passports with us at all time then..

Permit is enough to cross the border now, checks run from time to time, mostly for merchandise.

Not quite sure how this works, but I can imagine buses being stopped for checks to be carried out which will consume a bit of time.
am actually considering the option of living in Ferney Voltaire and commuting from there into GE everyday, but really can't be bothered to wait around each time I pass through the border...

It's not really regular checks, it all depends if the guards are on duty or in breaks (which most of the time they are), though when the bus get stopped & depending on who's in it and how many persons traveling, this can take anything from 5 min to 15 mins.

I cross through France in the Ferney Voltaire area now and then when the highway is too packed in the evenings after work (so I take the back roads instead).

I don't recall seeing anyone at the border crossing in the past year or so... But they may be there occasionally.