PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA’s stubborn bus driver shortage has not improved, but riders are experiencing fewer missed trips and canceled routes this year than last year. The difference comes down to overtime pay for drivers.
“Just like every transit agency in the country, workforce shortages have been a challenge,” SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards said.
She acknowledges that the transit agency’s bus driver shortage has been a persistent problem.
“We’re doing everything we can and have plans in place to get those numbers back up. I talk to our colleagues across the country who are all dealing with these workforce shortages, and it’s not going to be a fast fix.”
Last year at this time, SEPTA was about 100 drivers short of a full complement of around 2,700. Currently it is short about 144 operators. That means when a driver calls out, there may not be a ready replacement.
“We’re doing the best we can, but when we don’t have an operator to go on a route, that route can sometimes be delayed — or it can be canceled altogether.”
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Since SEPTA made more overtime pay available in July 2021 for drivers to fill those shifts, the overall trend line for missed trips per month has seen a slight decline — though, that is little consolation to anyone whose bus route is the one that’s delayed or canceled.
Last August, there were about 25,000 missed trips. There was a spike to 28,000 in January during the surge of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, but the number of monthly missed trips was down to 16,000 in June.
“It’s slow progress, but we’re making more progress than we were, definitely, last year at this time,” Richards said.
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