SamTrans is dealing with driver shortage

He acknowledged there are always ebbs and flows to recruitment, but the shortage seems particularly acute right now. SamTrans has a run book that determines the service put out, frequency and times of day, with 267 assignments for drivers. SamTrans currently has 290 in its ranks. It wants to have around 300, and when its new Reimagine SamTrans project starts, it expects to need about 320 to 330 operators.

“So we have a little bit of a cushion, but it’s not a great cushion. We would like to have a little higher than that,” Mau said.

The Reimagine SamTrans project works to improve efficiency, the rider experience and grow ridership, with several changes to routes and operations like Route ECR scheduled for August 2022.

“As we go through the Reimagine SamTrans process, there is a desire to put more service out there, and if we can’t start getting our bus operator numbers up, we are not going to be able to put the service out there that we ultimately want to,” Mau said.

Ensuring enough drivers are available for Reimagine SamTrans growth is a concern moving forward. SamTrans has said the projected service will provide weekday frequency improvements, weekend service improvements and added local bus service through the county.

“We have some time before Reimagine SamTrans gets put in place, so this is the time now to really put effort into beefing up our bus operator ranks and making sure we have enough people for Reimagine SamTrans,” Mau said.

SamTrans ridership and service went down during the pandemic, decreasing the need for drivers and rendering the issue dormant for a time. SamTrans had a surplus of operators if someone was exposed or got COVID-19 and quarantined. However, as more routes restart and society reopens, more service is needed.

Mau noted the workforce for large parts of the service industry does not seem to be there compared to pre-pandemic. SamTrans has struggled to get its operator training classes filled. The agency is trying to fill up the training classes but acknowledged it needs to do a better job getting more applicants into the pools.

“We just haven’t been able to graduate as many students as we would like. That’s resulting in this current state, where we are right at the bare minimum of what we need to provide a service and put it out there. We need to get a healthy number of operators to get to a more stable level of operators so we can put the service out there reliably,” Mau said.

Attrition occurs during the 10-week training, with a drop-off at the start. Pre-COVID, the washout rate was about 33%. However, during the last two classes during COVID-19, the transit agency has seen larger washout rates, and it is still trying to figure out why. Mau said the post-COVID workforce is different than before the pandemic, with SamTrans learning to manage the new landscape.

Service can be affected if SamTrans does not get enough operators working, which it calls DNOs, or did not operate. DNOs result in a certain portion of routes not being operable because no one can cover it.

“When you DNOs, that means unreliable service for our passengers and customers,” Mau said.

SamTrans is digging into the exact reasons for the lack of numbers but is sending out surveys to those who drop out to figure out why people aren’t moving forward. A potential reason is it takes two to three months from the time someone applies to the time you get into the training classes. SamTrans is also doing more marketing and trying to add more applicants to the pool to increase its numbers. It also has a referral program with labor unions, in which people who refer someone to be a bus operator get $500 if they complete the training and further bonuses for both if they met retention goals.

It hopes to shorten its wait time to enter training by expediting drug and alcohol tests and adding more training classes. Mau compared the situation to a funnel, saying SamTrans needed lots of people in the applicant pool and then funnel through as many people as possible.

“Hopefully, we will be able to address this operator shortage and get a more stable operator staffing size so we can run more reliable service out there,” Mau said.

People who want to learn more about driving for SamTrans can go to samtrans.com/about/Jobs/DriveWithUs.html for more information.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102