The Denver Bus Driver Shortage

Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) is having trouble hiring drivers. The $19.23 per hour starting wages have not attracted enough bus drivers to fill all the routes and replace drivers retiring. "The Regional Transportation District is short 120 full- and part-time drivers. Without these drivers, some buses and trains never leave the station, leaving passengers waiting and frustrated," reports Andy Bosselman. The labor shortage is having an impact on the ground, "In February, RTD cancelled some buses and trains, totaling 1,204 missed service hours," Bosselman writes. If bus schedules are forced to shrink, that makes transit less attractive in a city that’s already losing bus ridership.

Other American cities are facing a similar problem. Denver is a city with a rising cost of living and a low 3.7 percent unemployment rate. Another issue is the RTD's long hiring process, which loses candidates along the way. The agency has sought to curb this loss by adding electronic hiring capability, but some complain the system is still too slow.