Last week, Bloomington Transit announced it would be reducing buses for the Six, Six Limited, Seven and Nine routes because of a driver shortage.
Lew May is the general manager for Bloomington Transit. He said they’re running at about 76 percent of normal service. Before the pandemic, May said they had about 60 drivers; now they have 48.
“It’s a challenge out there, no matter what business field you may be in, everyone is short on employees. The pandemic has exacerbated that.
May said they’ve added $3,000 hiring and employee referral incentives. They’ve also increased their starting wage to $18.32 an hour in hopes of attracting new employees.
He said because of the pandemic, they don’t anticipate as much student ridership, and that’s part of the reason they reduced these routes.
May added on the routes that have been reduced, buses will come every 15 minutes rather than every 10.
?Due to a lack of drivers, frequency of buses on Routes 6,6 Limited, 7, and 9 will be reduced this school year. We may experience these buses filled to capacity during peak times. Please consider catching an earlier bus to avoid being late to appointments. — Bloomington Transit (@BT_Transit) August 19, 2021
