Like many transit agencies around the country, the regional transit agency for Portland, Oregon is struggling to attract enough bus drivers to maintain planned levels of transit service.
The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet), the transit agency for the Portland region, is temporarily reducing transit service on ten bus lines due to an ongoing shortage of operators, according to an article by Tyler Graf posted on the TriMet website on June 22.
TriMet is dealing with the largest operator shortage in the agency’s history, mirroring the ongoing bus driver shortage around the country. While some transit agencies were challenged by driver shortages previous to the Covid-19 pandemic, the issue has since become almost ubiquitous, leading to service reductions like those in Portland in addition to the scaling back of planned bus system redesigns, like in Los Angeles and in Miami.
Among the actions TriMet has undertaken to reverse the driver shortage, the article has boosted starting pay (to $25.24 an hour) and signing bonuses (to $7,500).
“With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way people travel, TriMet has launched Forward Together, a comprehensive service analysis and community engagement effort to determine a better bus system,” according to the article.
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