“We’ve had a high rate of retirements, and now, with low unemployment and the increase in e-commerce, transit agencies are in competition with package delivery companies and others for drivers,” he said. The highest level of vacant positions were bus operators.ĭickens said the shortage was becoming a problem before the coronavirus pandemic because of an aging workforce and a lack of interest from younger people. “It involves doing all sorts of things to try to make it easier for people in the jobs and for people to apply for the jobs.”Īn October report by the association found that 96% of 190 transit agencies that responded to a survey reported experiencing a workforce shortage overall. “It’s a big deal, and it’s probably an issue we’re going to be dealing with for some time,” Matt Dickens, director of policy development and research at the American Public Transportation Association, a trade group, said of the shortage. In the meantime, driver shortages have forced them to reduce service or delay expansion plans, meaning longer wait times and more crowded buses for some passengers. Many agencies have boosted pay rates or offered bonuses and are trying to streamline hiring practices and improve worker schedules. Hostile interactions with passengers, often because drivers must enforce fares or intervene in onboard incidents.ĭriving a public bus isn’t an easy job, and many transit agencies around the country are having trouble finding people who want to do it.
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