The T’s bus driver shortage is part of a larger hiring problem facing the agency. Chicago Transit Authority declined to provide the number of bus drivers needed to restore service, but a spokesperson said the agency has about 86 percent of its budgeted bus driver positions filled. (New York and New Jersey agencies restored service in summer 2020.) Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority are well on their way, each with about 95 percent of the bus drivers needed to restore pre-pandemic service, according to spokespeople. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City, New Jersey Transit, and Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority have hired and retained enough drivers to restore pre-pandemic service. And they’re all doing something different than the T: They allow new drivers to start as full-time employees, giving them an opportunity to make higher wages immediately. But a Globe review of six large US transit agencies found the T’s peers have had more success digging themselves out of the crisis. And the issue has forced the agency to cut service repeatedly over the last year.įor its part, the T has said the shortage mirrors most transit agencies nationwide. The MBTA bus driver workforce is shrinking.
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