Lane Transit District Bus Operator Shortage Impacts LTD Summer Service
Eugene, Ore.— June 10, 2021 — Lane Transit District (LTD) has joined transit agencies in Seattle, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Dayton, Augusta, Denver, New York City and other metro areas where a shortage of new bus operators is impacting the service they can provide to their communities.
LTD officials say the District will maintain its current service schedule until fall. Additional summer service will not be added to the bus schedule as was previously announced through District marketing channels. Bus schedules are at ltd.org/maps-stations-routing/
“It is unfortunate and we empathize with our passengers who rely on expanded summer service, but LTD is now experiencing the same bus operator shortage as many transit districts have across the country for the past several years,” said Aurora Jackson, LTD’s General Manager, who started her career in Southern California as a bus operator. “Bus operators make a difference in the community for the thousands of passengers who depend on the bus to meet the people and visit the places that mean the most to them.”
LTD currently has 158 professional bus operators who provide services across the District seven days per week. With bus operators retiring, the District has rehired operators who were furloughed or laid off during the pandemic in 2020, but the District still needs to recruit and train a minimum of 20 more qualified bus operators to meet the service levels the community has come to expect. To recruit and train new bus operators takes at least five months.
“I encourage anyone who is community-minded to consider a career as a bus operator,” Jackson said. “It is a rewarding career that matters.”
Information about bus operator careers with LTD can be found at LTD.org/employment
About Lane Transit District (LTD)
LTD provides more than 10 million boardings per year on its buses and EmX Bus Rapid Transit line in Lane County, Oregon. Encompassing the Eugene-Springfield metro area, LTD is a special district of the State of Oregon and led by a seven-member board of directors appointed by Oregon’s governor. LTD also operates RideSource, a paratransit service for people with disabilities, and numerous transportation options programs to promote sustainable travel county wide.
