Report: ‘Acute’ workforce shortages challenge public transit agencies

From a lack of mechanics to not enough bus drivers, public transit organizations across the United States are experiencing administrative shortages throughout the workforce. Ninety-six percent of public agencies surveyed by the American Public Transportation Association said they’re experiencing some kind of staffing shortage, and 84 percent said that shortage is affecting their ability to meet their mission.

The crisis “has strained budgets and forced agencies to reduce service,” reads the report, which is titled “Transit Workforce Shortage Root Causes, Potential Solutions, and the Road Ahead” and was published last month. “This shortage is occurring during a period of economic instability and reshuffling exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Agencies’ ability to respond to the worker shortage has been hampered by inadequate information about its causes and effects.”

Paul Skoutelas, president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association, noted in a statement that the challenge “is complex, multifaceted, and connected to changes in the broader culture and economy. … Successfully responding to it will involve a comprehensive approach.”

The report was prepared by FourSquare ITP in association with EBP.

Although the shortage is most acute in large, urbanized areas and agencies with high ridership, the report says, it’s impacting most agencies across the country, regardless of location, ridership, service area population or fleet. And while the pandemic might have exacerbated and accelerated the administrative challenges, the future outlook isn’t any better. With the transit workforce aging, the report predicts that agencies will continue to experience a high rate of retirements.

“Agencies report that retirees make up 24 percent of all quitting workers; at rural agencies, 34 percent of departures are retirements,” the report continues. Driving this workforce shortages trend, “43 percent of transit workers are over 55, nearly double the percentage of the broader transportation sector. The aging of the transit workforce suggests agencies should plan for an increase in the rate of retirements over the next five to 10 years.”

Further compounding the issue, regulatory red tape slows down the hiring process. And with more workers exiting, it’s increasingly difficult for agencies to bring in replacements. In the wake of the pandemic, the economic landscape has been “characterized by low-unemployment and high job churn, meaning that agencies face more competition for the same pool of potential workers,” the report continues. “Agencies reported that 45 percent of departing employees left to take jobs outside the transit industry, more than those who retire or left the workforce combined.” Quantifying this squeeze, agencies reported that their offers for employment are rejected by candidates 35 percent of the time—more than twice the rate of rejection across all industries.

Outgoing employees cited most often concerns about challenging schedules, along with compensation, as the primary reasons for leaving. This is notable because it represents a change over the last few years, with “most agencies” these days reporting “that scheduling and compensation are leading to more departures today than before the pandemic.”

Besides increasing compensation for both existing and new candidates, the report highlights that administrators should stress the value of the benefits packages their organizations are able to offer, as they’re often better than what’s offered in the private sector: “Agencies should calculate the average value of those benefits so that applicants and employees are aware of their total compensation when they are making employment decisions,” the report says. “Some agencies have explored other forms of compensation, such as acquiring and providing worker housing and offering student loan and tuition benefits.”

To address scheduling concerns, agencies need to work to “get creative,” the report says. Shift differentials can help incentivize workers to fill tougher shifts, for example. Agencies can also evolve from a “‘cafeteria approach,’ where each driver picks their runs and days off in order of seniority, to a weekly rostering approach, where agencies minimize the difference between operators’ workweeks by combining daily runs to create complete weeks of work for operators.”

This can help improve schedules for newer employees and, in turn, alleviate workforce shortages.

Other suggestions for attracting new and younger talent is to focus on improving workplace culture, including establishing pathways for advancement and professional growth, and by improving their hiring practices.

To read the complete report, visit the American Public Transit Association’s website.