Metro Transit later this month in response to an ongoing operator shortage. Without enough bus drivers to staff the public transportation agency鈥檚 current service level, many riders have been left waiting at stops for planned buses that never come.
Along a high-frequency route like the #70 Grand, a typical 15-minute wait is frequently turning into 30 or 40 minutes. And a canceled trip can mean waiting far longer along routes where a bus is scheduled to pass by only every half-hour or so. As temperatures in the St. Louis region drop toward winter, that has St. Louis resident Latoya Smith particularly worried.
The longtime bus rider told St. Louis on the Air that as someone who needs to be on site at her workplace from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday, her days already have been made more difficult and her schedule uncertain by the transit worker shortage.
鈥淚鈥檓 dependent on the bus to make a connection. 鈥� It makes it very difficult for me to get to my job, and then I鈥檓 having to always re-explain to my boss. 鈥� You don鈥檛 know how long you鈥檙e going to be standing outside,鈥� Smith said.
Metro recently for how to tell if a trip has been canceled by using the Transit app. 鈥淥ur team works hard to update Transit app as quickly as possible, but it is not always possible to have a trip crossed off in time,鈥� an Oct. 19 Metro blog post reads, with screenshots of an example trip included to help app-checking riders tell if the app is actually accurate.
Metro also suggests calling its Transit Information team at 314-231-2345 if riders encounter a wait of 30 minutes or more due to a bus not showing up for a scheduled trip, 鈥渨e can help set up a ride on Lyft for you.鈥�
Dutchtown-based bus rider Gina Becnel took advantage of the Lyft backup option recently, calling Metro after waiting in the cold and noticing the Transit app wasn鈥檛 live-updating. She said she was grateful for the lift but sees it as a less-than-ideal solution.
鈥淚f every rider who missed their bus was taking a Lyft, it would just be more affordable for Metro to raise the wage of their drivers,鈥� Becnel said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 sure that would attract more drivers to fill this gap.鈥�
Local transit enthusiast Mitch Eagles notes that not all bus riders have access to smartphone apps 鈥� and may not be aware that Metro has turned to Lyft services to fill in transit gaps. And he and Catina Wilson, vice president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 788, are both sad to see public transit dollars going instead to individualized ridesharing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the Metro of 20 years ago,鈥� Wilson lamented. She鈥檚 been sorry to see commuter lines cut and service reduced along some of the region鈥檚 highest-capacity bus lines.
On Tuesday鈥檚 St. Louis on the Air, she told host Sarah Fenske about what she鈥檚 heard from union members about why some bus drivers are growing frustrated or even leaving the job.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really the lack of support from the management,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淎nd this is not an easy job to do.鈥�
The union rep pointed to COVID-19-related stressors as pivotal and what she described as a lack of empathy from management along with 鈥渦nrealistic expectations鈥� in the pandemic era.
鈥淭he stress of the job and the danger that comes with the job, a number of them are calling it quits,鈥� Wilson explained. 鈥淎nd you can鈥檛 recruit enough people yet. The management team, I don鈥檛 believe, is putting in the work it takes to retain the employees who have maintained the system.鈥�
Meanwhile, several local bus riders including Eagles are working to launch a union for transit riders, called . All volunteers at this point, members of the group plan to start making their presence known across the transit system this week.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be out at transit centers and bus stops, as much as we can. ... We鈥檒l be sharing information about the organization and our goals,鈥� Eagles said.
Those goals include giving bus riders a stronger voice at the decision-making table.
鈥淭hese problems have been going on for a long time 鈥� and nothing has been done. We hear a lot about turnstiles and security safety, but safety only goes that far,鈥� Eagles said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 count for the single mother who鈥檚 waiting to get home from her job in the dark and her bus shelter is broken, and the bus has been cut back. And now she has to wait an extra half-hour. She might have to transfer. Why doesn't that count as safety for Metro and Bi-State [Development]?鈥�
Wilson added that she thinks 鈥渢he system needs to really look at kind of doing an overhaul and putting the operators and people in labor in a different place where they feel appreciated.鈥�
鈥淲e have people [making] under $20 an hour,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 live today on these kind of wages. And they don鈥檛 get the treatment that they deserve when they鈥檙e making this system work.鈥�
The discussion also included comments from Bi-State Development President and CEO Taulby Roach. He said in a statement provided to St. Louis on the Air on Tuesday morning that Bi-State鈥檚 focus 鈥渋s to support our operators and deliver a better transit experience for our riders.鈥�
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 shut down when the global pandemic reached our region so our operators have been out there on the front line every single day delivering service for essential workers,鈥� Roach wrote in part. 鈥淭heir commitment to provide transit services during one of the most challenging periods in history has been nothing short of heroic. We need to get our operators more help because we are impacted like many other transit agencies and businesses by the nationwide labor shortage.鈥�
The transit CEO went on to say that new operators are being hired 鈥渢o sustain our current team members. We鈥檝e increased our recruitment efforts significantly, and we鈥檙e slowly beginning to see some success with new operator training classes progressing for MetroBus and Metro Call-A-Ride. However, it is going to take time to restore our workforce level to where it needs to be.鈥�
Roach emphasized his appreciation for the agency鈥檚 workers and riders, and said the Nov. 29 service changes are being implemented 鈥渢o improve service reliability and minimize or eliminate canceled bus trips.鈥�
鈥淲e will be able to better match our service levels with our staffing resources so that our riders can rely on Metro and know that their bus will arrive when it is scheduled to,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淭his reduction in service and service frequency is temporary. It is intended to stabilize our service, improve our reliability, and improve service for riders. And as we grow our workforce in the months ahead, we look forward to restoring transit service in spring and summer of next year.鈥�
Metro Transit is putting on a hiring event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. this Saturday at its Central Facility, 3300 Spruce St.
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is hosted by and produced by , , and . Jane Mather-Glass is our production assistant. The audio engineer is .
