University bus drivers received a pay increase yesterday, bringing their current starting wage to $8 an hour.
The raise, a $0.39 boost, comes as University Transit Service officials struggle to recruit additional bus drivers to accommodate new route configurations.
Driver recruitment has fallen significantly in the last year, said Asst. Director for Transit Operations David J. Kloss. As a result, there are not always enough drivers available to cover all routes.
A senior bus driver, speaking on condition of anonymity, said because of staff shortages, routes occasionally have been shut down, most often affecting the Grounds Loop.
The shortages are a relatively recent development, he added, occurring significantly only in the past year, a situation which Kloss attributed to low driver enrollment.
It will take strong recruiting this winter and spring to replenish the driver pool for next year, he added. Currently, 17 students have registered for the January training session, short of the 18 to 21 students in most prior classes, but a marked improvement from the 14 that trained at this time last year.
In addition to the wage increase, drivers also will have the potential to earn $0.25 raises for every 500 hours on the job beginning in the spring, Kloss said.
Because the Grounds Loop is not considered essential, drivers are often pulled to operate more critical routes such as the Orange or Blue, said Will Sowers, student council vice president for administration, a bus driver who previously served as chair of the parking and transportation committee.
"There have been issues," he said. "We've had trouble getting enough drivers."
The Grounds Loop only services areas already covered by the Blue and Orange routes and therefore is not as high of a priority as those routes that service distant areas such as North Grounds and Jefferson Park Avenue, Sowers said.
Kloss would not comment specifically about service limitations, saying instead that driver shortages have not been the only problem.
"Customers maybe have higher expectations of that service," he said. "Some people don't take to change well by exploring the alternatives they have."
The Blue and Orange Bus Routes, which form the backbone of the University's transportation network, were reconfigured over the summer to increase service during the night while decreasing daytime service. This change has resulted in the operation of two fewer buses during the day, according to Kloss.
Last year, busses ran at 10-minute intervals during weekdays and 20-minute intervals on the weekends and at night. This year, busses run every 12 minutes, except during the day on weekends when they remain on a 20-minute cycle.
Although the Grounds Loop has improved service from last year, increasing its schedule from running every half-hour to every quarter-hour, no additional busses were added. Instead, the route was reconfigured to focus more heavily on central Grounds, removing service from areas such as the Medical Center.
Despite these changes, the Grounds Loop currently is not well timed to coincide with peak demand around class times, said Parking and Transportation Committee Chair Rory Francisco. Assuming there are enough drivers, two additional buses will run next semester during these times to help alleviate overcrowding on the main routes.
University Transit officials are looking to hire two new full-time drivers, adding to the eight already on staff. This effort is not guaranteed to provide new assistance, however, as current part-time drivers are likely to apply for the positions, Kloss said.
While part-time drivers are asked to work at least 12 hours a week, some fail to do so, contributing to the staff shortage, he added.
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