NYC BUS DRIVER SALARY DRIVERS
Starting salaries for drivers at agencies in the top seven ridership regions range between $19.55 and $29.61 an hour, not including overtime, according to the report. Transit agencies are turning to on-demand, shared-ride services to reach underserved communities.Ī July report by TransitCenter, a nonprofit research and advocacy group based in New York, found that while lots of agencies offer a middle-class salary and good benefits for city bus drivers, housing and living costs in many areas have skyrocketed, and operator pay hasn’t kept up. Stateline Story AugCan Uber-like Public Transit Replace Old-Fashioned Buses? Like school bus, delivery and truck drivers, city transit drivers must have a commercial license, which means they must pass a specialized exam and road and drug tests. “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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